THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROVIDED SCHOOLING FOR WORKING CIASS CHILDREN IN BIRMINGHAM 1781-1851

Michael Brian Frost

Submitted for the degree of Laster of Letters

School of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Birmingham, 1978.

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SYNOPSIS

This thesis considers the development of 'provided 1 schooling for working class children in Birmingham between 1781 and 1851. The opening chapters critically examine the available statistical evidence for schooling provision in this period, suggesting how the standard statistical information may be augmented, and then presenting a detailed chronology of schooling provision and use. The third chapter is a detailed survey of the men who were controlling and organizing schooling during the period in question. This survey has been made in order that a more informed examination of the trends in schooling shown by the chronology may be attempted.

The period 1781-1851 is divided into three roughly equal periods, each of which parallels a major initiative in working class schooling; 1781-1804 and the growth of Sunday schools, 1805-1828 and the development of mass day schooling through monitorial schools, and 1829- 1851 and the major expansion of day schooling. The first two periods are covered by chapters 4- and 5 respectively, and the last period by chapters 6 and 7 which deal in turn with Anglican and then Dissenting provision. These chapters examine the form and content of schooling, the nature of control within the schools, and the response of the prospective clientele the working class children. The final chapter, 8, examines for the whole period the various factors influencing levels of attendance in the provided schools. FOR MT GRANDFATHER

BRIAN BOLTON BURROWS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

In presenting this thesis I would like to thank Dorothy- Thompson, my supervisor, whose advice and encouragement has been invaluable, and without whose efforts I would not have started this

research. I would also like to thank Richard Johnson,' of the Centre* for Contemporary and Cultural Studies who has also given me much encouragement and from whom I have learnt a great deal. lv|y thanks are also due to the librarians and staffs of many institutions; in particular, those of the Birmingham Central Reference Library, The King Edward 1 s School Foundation Office, and the Blue Coat School.

The writing of a thesis whilst also employed in a full time occupation is an onerous task, the burden of which does not only fall on the writer. Ity greatest thanks must go to my wife, Carolyn, and to my parents, who over the last few years have sacrificed much in order to help me complete this work. CONTENTS.

Page No f s. ACKKOWI£DGEMENTS. CONTENTS. PREFACE. CHAPTER 1. Sources for the Statistics of Schooling : Their Reliability and Use. 1-27 CHAPTER 2. The Statistics of Schooling in Birmingham 1781-1851 : Schools and Scholars. 28 - 62 CHAPTER 3. The Committee Members of Birmingham's Provided Schools 1781-1851. 63 no. CHAPTER 4. Trends in Provision 1781-1804.. 111 164 CHAPTER 5. Trends in Provision 1805-1828. 165 224 CHAPTER 6. Trends in Anglican Provision 1829-1851. 225 - 296

CHAPTER 7. Trends in Dissenting Provision 1829-1851. 297 - 343 CHAPTER 8. The Problem of Attendance. 375 CONCLUSION. 376 381 APPENDIX A. 382 395 APPENDIX B. 396 400 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 401 415 PREFACE

The years 1781-1851 saw the growth and expansion of a system of schooling which, following Richard Johnson, may be called the 'provided 1 system of schooling. These schools, both those already existing and those which were to be founded, differed from the other form of schooling which may be termed 'private 1 , in their modes of finance and control. The provided schools were essentially philanthropic ventures, providing a schooling for the children of the poor and demanding in return specific responses in terms of pupils 1 dress, behaviour and attendance at religious worship. In contrast the private schools existed as a straightforward financial arrangement between parents and teachers, and involved no obligations to behave in any specified form. This thesis is concerned with the development of this provided schooling, it has not examined the progress of private and indigenous working class schooling, which would be the subject of a thesis in its own right.

One of the most necessary tasks in considering provided schooling in Birmingham was the need to establish an accurate chronology of its development. This has been done through the compilation of a detailed set of statistics relating to school foundation, existing school stock (2) (illustrating closure as well as foundation), and average pupil attendance. A considerable controversy has taken place recently over the use and value of nineteenth century "official11 statistics of education, that is those

(1) Richard Johnson, 'Notes on the schooling of the English working class 1780-1850', in Schooling and Capitalism t ASociological Reader ^11976). (2) This thesis has defined pupils and thus children as those aged between 5 and 15 years of age. This age range is used as a general guide, for as is mentioned in the text, it is realised that many children outside this age range attended provided schools, including some adults. The education of working class adults, however, lies outside the scope of this thesis. from government or statistical society surveys. The controversy, between Professor West and Dr.Hurt is considered in greater detail in Chapter 1. This thesis uses these official statistics, but takes up a different standpoint from either West or Hurt. It seems that although considerable valid criticism of the statistics can be made, that to dismiss them out of hand as Hurt does, is to discard valuable historical information. The approach adopted in this thesis, in compiling the statistics of attendance in particular, is to be critically aware of the deficiencies of the official statistics and to use them in combination with the wealth of statistical information concerning provided schools that is found in local as well as other national sources. This combination of official with unofficial sources as well as providing a valuable check for the official figures, enables the compilation of an accurate chart of provision to be made, which clearly shows the various patterns in schooling development.

In considering the statistics it is not disputed that there are problems in justifying the accuracy of individual figures. It must be stressed here that this thesis is not aiming to provide a set of figures which claim to show the exact levels of attendance in the schools, this is not possible; but by gathering and compiling as many figures as possible, one is able to see general trends in provision and attendance. It is in this context of combined overall trends that the importance of the statistics lies, not in the accuracy or validity of the individual components. The establishment of a chronology of schooling development is an important if apparantly modest enterprise; for an accurate account of the growth of schooling as an institution is a pre-requisite for any explanatory accounts of the history of schooling. This thesis is mostly concerned with explaining the trends that the statistics reveal. The charting of the patterns of provided schooling is to a certain extent the charting of patterns of philanthropy. Who exactly were the men involved in this philanthropic provision of schooling? Were there differences in social origins between day and Sunday school providers, or between providers from different denominations? A close and detailed survey has been made of the men who were school governors, managers or committee members of the provided day and Sunday schools in Birmingham. This initially involved ascertaining their occupations as a preliminary to social classification. It was found that a large number had job descriptions either too vague to allow classification or no description at all. To try to gain an insight into the social standing of these men and also to confirm the relative wealth of providers from the big bourgeoisie, as far as possible the probate records of all the providers were examined to determine the value of their personal estates at death. The information gained here was one pointer towards the social classing of the providers. The family connections, business connections and tenure of socially prestigious offices were also examined as further evidence of social status. From the accumulated information it was possible to note several interesting distinctions in providers 1 origins and this has enabled a more valid examination of the trends in provision to be made.

A major feature of nineteenth century schooling was its development along denominational lines. A detailed study is made here of the differing fortunes of Anglicans and Dissenters in schooling ventures, attention being given to the nature of their responses to different situations. Obviously, the nature of providers 1 motives would play a great part in determining the sort of schooling offered. Considerable attention is paid to investigating the way that various social philosophies informed the schooling enterprise. To what extent was the content of the curriculum, the mode of discipline and the form of internal organization in the various schools operative in forwarding the motives of the providers? Consideration is given to these questions, and in doing so investigation is made and answers suggested as to why some schools were successful and others were not so.

In a recent major study of Sunday schooling, it has been suggested that the Sunday Schools as an institution rapidly became a part of working class life, and were working class orientated and controlled. The whole question of the nature of control in working class schools is central to a full understanding of why schooling developed in the way that it did. It is important to know who had control of the Sunday schools, whether it was a committee of subscribers or whether it was the teachers themselves; what forms the control took and how it was exercised. The questions to a lesser extent also apply to day schools, although there the organization was much tighter than in the Sunday schools. The question of control of schools is considered here in the light of Laqueur's viewj this is done through a detailed examination of not only the stated intentions of how schools were to be run, but also by an examination of the way they actually performed. It should be emphasized that the pattern of control was not just one dimensional, with control emanating from the providers and working in a vacuum on the pupils; naturally, the existing working class, parental culture exerted a force of its own which has to be taken into account.

(1) T.W. Laqueur, Religion and Respectability : Sunday Schools and Working Class Culture, 1780-1850, (Yale 1976), p.63. What effect, if any, did the local environment have on the development of schooling? Birmingham developed during the years 1781-1851 into one of the largest industrial towns in the country, its economic base being largely that of the small workshop rather than the (2) large factory domination of other major industrial towns. As various historians have noted, there was a high percentage of artisans in Birmingham out of the total population, and it has been suggested (3) relatively harmonious relationships between the classes. Did this inter-class relationship, if it existed, affect the nature of working class response to the philanthropic provision of schooling? What role did the artisans play in determining styles of schooling? The detailed examination of working class response to the various forms of schooling on offer provides answers to these questions.

The history of education, both national and local, has until recently tended to be 'studied in isolation..from..society in general 1 , very often

(1) For the purposes of this thesis the limits of Birmingham have been taken as those it had when created a Borough in 1838; that is the old parishes of St.Martin's, St.Philip's,Edgbaston, and the hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley, and Duddeston cum Kechells. Difficulties have arisen in using some statistical source materials because of their differing definitions of "Birmingham". Much of this has stemmed from the fact that the four hamlets mentioned above, although economically and geographically linked with Birmingham, were part of Aston parish. Consequently, although part of Birmingham from 1838, prior to that they were detailed under Aston and in post 1838 parish based statistics were again under Aston. A further complication arises with the poor law unions, as Edgbaston came under Kings Norton,Worcestershire and B'ham and Aston 1 s Unions under Warwickshire. These problems,although providing complications, have not proved insuperable. (2) M.J.Wise, (Ed), Birmingham and its Regional Setting : A Scientific Survey, (Birmingham 1950), pp.l6l. ff. (3) See Chapters 5,6,7 and referances to Tholfsen and Briggs. (4.) Robert Douch, 'Introduction 1 to T.G.Cook, (Ed), Local Studies and the History of Education. (1972), p.x. being antiquarian in nature presenting an accumulation of fact and description with little or no analysis and no relation to society in general. This thesis through a study of the personnel, organisations and social connections vithin schooling philanthropy has attempted to link educational and social history in the locality of Birmingham. There are advantages and limitations in concentrating on one locality, but it vould seem that it is essential, for a better understanding of schooling development in the nineteenth century, to have a series of closely investigated local studies to call upon. It must be stressed, that it is also essential that these studies should not be divorced from other aspects of local or national history. Throughout this thesis comparisons -will be made with other localities' and national developments.

The thesis falls into two main sections. In the first of these, Chapters 1 to 3, the results of the detailed specific surveys on levels of provision and the providers are presented and discussed. Chapter 1 elucidates and critically evaluates the sources of statistics and information upon which the surveys are constructed, after which Chapter 2 presents the statistics of school foundation, school stock and pupil attendance. These statistics are examined and the major trends which need explanation are outlined. Chapter 3 then considers the nature of the men organizing the educational provision and gives details of social background and occupation from which the more detailed examination of succeeding chapters draws.

These trends in the nature of provision and also the changes in the providing groups are closely examined and accounted for in the rest of the thesis. The period 1781-1851 has been divided into three roughly equal periods, which tend to parallel major changes in the nature of provision. The first two periods, 1781-1804. and 1805-1828 are discussed in separate chapters. The final period, 1829-1851, one of much greater activity, has been divided into tuo chapters covering Anglican schooling and Dissenting schooling respectively. The final chapter accounts for the nature of the working class response to the schooling offered. CHAPTER 1

SOURCES FOR THE STATISTICS OF SCHOOLING; THEIR RELIABILITY AND USE

1 ... it is manifestly clear that the returns of the/.v 1830's are of little value to the historian. 1 ^ '

The development of schooling for the working class child in Birmingham from 1781 to 1851 was a very complex process. The aim of this chapter is to examine the bases on which a statistical account of that development can be built. The creation of a statistical series will enable the varying broad trends and tendencies within the developing pattern of schooling to be seen and accounted for.

As the opening quotation reveals, the question of the validity of some major statistical source material has been seriously questioned. Consequently, not only will this chapter examine the bases for a statistical account, but also it will critically evaluate them. It will also be argued that, far from being valueless, if carefully used in the right context and in conjunction with other evidence, the findings of the returns referred to (and others of a similar nature) can be of considerable use in illuminating not just the levels of educational provision, but also other far-ranging aspects of working class life.

The first section of this chapter examines in detail the national statistical series of schooling figures which come from government reports, censuses, or Statistical Society reports. It will not be argued that these statistics are faultless. In fact their shortcomings will be discussed and considered in the light of the West/Hurt controversy over the educational statistics of the nineteenth century. The following section of the chapter will argue that there is a considerable wealth of

(l)J.S.Hurt, 'Professor West on Early Nineteenth-Century Education 1 , Economic History Review. 2nd series, XXTV, (1971), p.632. -2- statistical evidence on the extent and use of schooling for the working class which can be extracted from local records. The nature and reliabil­ ity of this type of source material is evaluated and it is suggested that a combination of local and national evidence enables the formation of patterns of school provision and use to be made, from which comment and analysis of the trends may be attempted. The final section of the chapter provides a programme for the use of the statistics, suggesting the best uses for the information, so that it can reveal and illuminate as much about working class life as possible.

Those historians of education who have used statistical sources to comment on the provision of schooling in the nineteenth century, have usually worked from the printed series of government and statistical society reports. Before 1818 there was little information coming from Parliamentary Reports concerning the education of the working class child. The 1803-4 'Abstract of the Answers and Returns Relative to the Poor 1 gave details of parochial schools and schools of industry on a parish basis, 'and was virtually the only 'official 1 publication producing evidence on schooling on a national basis until the Select Committee enquiry into the 'education of the lower orders' in 1816. This was followed in 1818 by the survey which resulted in the 'Digest of Parochial Returns' often termed the 'Brougham' survey after the chairman of the committee. It was this report which has mostly been used as the first (2) guide to the extent of schooling provision in the early nineteenth century.

Brougham's Select Committee sent out enquiries to the parochial clergy which asked for details of schooling provision amongst the lower orders. The returns illustrated a major problem endemic to the early statistical reports - the biases, lack of knowledge and in some cases unreliability

("0 Abstract of the Answers and Returns Relative to the Poor, P.P.(l803-4)xiii (2) Digest of the Parochial Returns made to the Select Committee on the Education of the Poor. P.P. 1819 (22/l) IX. Hereafter Brougham 1818. -3- of the local agents responsible for collecting and returning the required information. The Brougham enquiries were sent to the clergy, but were often answered by curates, churchwardens or overseers. ' Consequently the accuracy of figures, amount of information and comment varies from parish to parish. The committee were aware of the deficiencies of the report and noted that the report was inadequate for the larger towns and was really only accurate in the returns which related to the endowed schools.^ '

The next major survey of schooling was that conducted under the auspices of Lord Kerry in 1833. Again the reliability of the agents was questioned. In this case they were the overseers of the poor. These men had previously collected, fairly inaccurately, details for the 1832 Reform Bill. As Frederic Hill of Birmingham commented, they would be f as likely to fail in giving a correct account of the number of schools and of pupils in their respective districts' as they had failed in detailing £10 a year rated households. ' The Kerry Report received considerable contemporary criticism much of which noted the under-estimation of the extent of provision made in the returns, this being particularly true as regards private education. (5)'

(1) B.I. Coleman, 'The Incidence of Education in Mid Century 1 , in E. A. Wrigley (Ed.), Nineteenth Century Society, (Cambridge, 1972),p.398. (2) Ibid, p.398. (3) Abstract of Education Returns 1833. P.P.1835 XLI-XLIII. Hereafter Kerry 1833. (4) Frederic Hill, National Education; It's Present State and Prospects, 2 Vols. (London, 1836) Vol.1, p.11. (5) Report from the Select Committee on the Education of the Poorer Classes. P.P. 1837-8. (589^) Vol. VII. p.iii-xi. Hereafter Slaney 1«38. -4-

The mid and late 1830 f s saw the production of a series of local investigations into the extent and use of schooling by various statistical societies. This information was also used by Government in the forms of select committees who took the statistical societies' reports in as evidence. ' The growth of statistical societies reflected an increasing contemporary awareness and curiosity about the state of society, which was partly answered by an increasing level of social enquiry. In Government terms this was reflected in the growing number of select committees, the creation of inspectorates and the foundation of depart- (2\ ments concerned with statistics. v ' Outside government, this was seen in the societies already referred to. These societies in gathering and compiling figures evolved close, careful and systematic methods of investigation as they felt their work was of a scientific nature and thus necessarily demanded care and accuracy. The reports on education which they produced generally afforded a greater reliability than the earlier figures. '

Tne most comprehensive and reliable government survey was that of 1851 conducted by Horace Mann and connected to the decennial census. ' The questionnaire on schooling was delivered by the census enumerators as they conducted the population census, and very few forms were un- returned, only some 2.7$ of day schools and 1.6$ of Sunday schools failing to submit answers. (v 5}' This survey did not provide details of individual schools but grouped them together in registration or poor-law union districts, or in combinations of these for some large boroughs.

(1) Children's Employment Commission, P.P. 1843 (431) Vol.XIV, p.r.185. Hereafter CEC 1843; Also see Slaney, 1838. (2) e.g. Board of Trade, General Register Office, and the improved Census Office. (3) See M.J.Cullen, The Statistical Movement in Early Victorian Britain, (New York, 1975) for an examination of the main features of the statistical movement. (4) Report of Commissioners for Taking a Census of Great Britain on Education (1852-3) /T692/ Vol.XC. Hereafter, Mann 1831. (5) Ibid, p.xiv. Percentages calculated from figures given by Mann. Although some historians of education have used these statistical sources to comment on nineteenth century schooling, it should be noted that they have often been virtually ignored.^ ' Even where they have been considered, it has usually been with little critical evaluation of (2) their worth, v 'even though they are open to criticism on account of their alleged inaccuracies, unreliability and bias. There would seem to be two types of problem to be considered when evaluating these sources. Firstly, the problems of the sources themselves, arising from the way in which the information was gathered and by whom it was gathered. Secondly, the problems over the use and interpretation of the statistics - exactly what do they mean ?

To consider first the problems of the sources themselves. The 1818 Brougham report was mostly compiled from the returns of Anglican 'officials', be they clergy or churchwardens, though Dissenters may have completed some returns as overseers of the poor. The returns show a considerable under representation of Dissenting and private schooling. It might be argued that this was the result of Anglican bias which purposely under-recorded non-Anglican schooling. However, as the under-recording seems to be most

(1) George I. Hawkes, The Development of Public Education in Helsont (Nelson, 1966); Ivor Morrish, Education Since 1800,(London 1970); S. J. Curt is and M. E. A. Boultwood, An Introductory History of English Education Since 1800, (London, 1962);R. R. Sellman, Devon Village Schools in the Nineteenth Century, (Newton Abbot,1967) (2) H. C. Barnard, A History of English Education From 1760,(London,1961); Marion Johnson, Derbyshire Village Schools in the Nineteenth Century, (Newton Abbot, 1970);David Wardle, Education and Society in Nineteenth-Century Nottingham, (Cambridge, 1971)-n.b.A recent essay which does use statistics of education critically is:- Beryl Madoc-Jones, 'Patterns of attendance and their social significance: Mitchara National School 1830-39', in Philip McCann (Ed.)» Popular Education and Socialization in the Nineteenth Century, (London, 1977). -6- evident in large urban parishes, it was probably the case that the clergy in the overcrowded parishes did not know the full extent or existence of non-Anglican schooling. The Kerry figures show a similar under-estimation of private schooling, the collecting agents (overseers of the poor) seemingly not having the time, energy or ability needed to discover and enumerate the many and often obscure private schools. The great reliability of statistical society reports was due to the careful and detailed examination of an area over a period of several months made by their investigators. As J. R. Wood, the compiler of the statistical report for Birmingham in 1838, noted,

'I supplied myself with a map of the town, and I commenced immediately at the extremity of the borough in one direction; I went up one side of the street and down the other, and all the intersecting streets and alleys, marking them off regularly every evening in my map'. (1)

Though the statistical enquiries were conducted in a much stricter and more reliable manner than the earlier surveys, the reports were not totally unbiased in their presentation. As Professor Asa Briggs has noted of this report and another of 1868, 'Both surveys had a propagand- (2) ist aim, being designed to urge the case for greater initiative. |X ' The Mann Census of 1851 was able to benefit from the close work of the census enumerators who were again, as with Wood in 1838, visiting all the streets and alleys in the town. But even so, the census enumerators, not being intimately connected with the warrens and mazes of courts in the large towns must have missed some private schooling, though their coverage of public schooling was probably effective.

(1) Slaney. 1838, p.113. question 1227. (2) Asa Briggs, 'Public Education1 , in W. B. Stephens (Ed.), The Victoria History of the County of Warwick, Vol. VII, (London,1965), P.489. -7-

These various 'official' statistics, particularly those in the Kerry report, were criticized by contemporaries for their inaccuracies,^ ' and there is little doubt that there are problems and difficulties which arise in their use and interpretation. Already it has been suggested that one form of problem arose from the actual collection and compilation of the figures, where the bias or lack of local knowledge of the * collector was a major factor. The other area of problem noted was in the interpretation of the statistics as presented. What are these difficulties ?

Recently, the whole question of the validity of the use of nineteenth century educational statistics has been raised, based on a mistrust of the figures, because of the difficulties inherent in their interpretation. Two opposing viewpoints have been taken, one by Professor E. G. West, who stands by the educational statistics, the other by Dr. J. Hurt, who treats them with complete agnosticism. Their debate has centred on Professor West's contention that the industrial expansion of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries brought with it a growth in education. Professor West used the educational statistical series to support his argument and stated that 'Every piece of statistical evidence on education between 1800 and 1840 points to (2} significant growth.' v ' Dr. Hurt has challenged Professor West's 'remarkable faith in the accuracy of the educational statistics 1 and has suggested that they were 'a precarious basis on which to build a model of educational activity in the 1830's...'^ ' In the light of these two

(1)Cullen, Statistical Movement, p.64-5* (2) E. G. West, 'Resource Allocation and Growth in Early Nineteenth- Century British Education 1 , Economic History Review, 2nd Series, Vol.XXIII, (1970), p.78. (3) Hurt, 'Professor West 1 , p.624 and p.632. -8- opposing views, what credence can be given to the general statistical series under discussion ?

Much of the difficulty in interpreting the figures lies in the ambiguity of different definitions of educational terms, perhaps most notably the word ! school 1 . Throughout the period in question there is a lack of consistency among statisticians and educators as to the precise meaning of 'school'. As Dr. Hurt has shown, infant, daily and Sunday school departments were counted as separate schools if they had individ­ ual teachers, even if they were situated in the same building and were part of the same organization. ' The differing approaches to the definition of a 'school 1 does create problems; but for the purposes of this thesis a 'school' will refer to related school buildings on one site as one school, not as separate schools because there are separate departments. This is the same approach as that taken by Mann in 1851; he noted that,

'The term "school" throughout this publication, is used to denote a distinct establishment. Thus, a school for both boys and girls, if under one general management and conducted in one range of buildings, is regarded as only one school, although the tuition may be carried on in separate compartments of the building, under separate superintendence. 1 (2)

Hurt also noted the ambiguity in the definition of a school where it was not necessarily a place of education, but might just be a child- minding institution. He has suggested that an increase of such 'schools' was perhaps the reason for the increase in education which Professor West saw as showing a 'growing thirst for knowledge among poor families.'^ ' The difficulty here is that the figures do not reveal the nature of the educational practice within a given 'school' - whether it was a child- minding or educational institution. Hurt particularly singled out dame

(1) Hurt, 'Professor West', p.625. (2) Mann, 1851, p. xiv. (3) Hurt, 'Professor West', p.625. -9-

and infant schools as being f nurseries' and suggested that they inflated the amount of provision available which West saw as educational. He noted that by the late 1850's 'the semantic ambiguities of the word 'school' had been resolved' and that dame and infant schools 'were seen for what they really were, that is nurseries.'^ ' Here Hurt makes the same mistake that he has accused West of, that is accepting sources uncritically. There is considerable evidence that not all infant schools were nurseries for very young children. The age range within an infant school could be wide, as could the educational content. Certainly in the 1830's in Birmingham more than 50$ of children in infant schools were aged over 5» and as the Statistical Society report revealed 15j$ of those (2\ in infant schools were over 7 years old. v ' The report also noted that the moral and religious instruction was 'much superior to the generality even of charity schools...'^ ' Statistical uncertainty can thus also arise if it is assumed that there were set age-ranges at which children were classified as 'Infants' or 'Boys and Girls'.

The difficulties in using statistics are not just confined to defining the nature of a school, for the meanings of pupil figures quoted in relation to a school can pose certain dilemmas. An example of this was found in a letter from the incumbent of a church in Birmingham in which he noted that the number of children at his school exceeded 800.^ ' Whether this figure referred to the numbers actually attending, to the numbers registered on the books, or possibly even to the maximum accommod­ ation is not clear. All three figures have their uses in determining the

(1) Hurt, 'Professor West', pp.628-9. (2) Birmingham Statistical Society for the Improvement of Education, 'Report on the State of Education in Birmingham', in Journal of the Statistical Society, (London), iii (1840) (p.13). Reprinted in Birmingham in 1840 as a single pamphlet pp.1-25 by the Birmingham Society. Page references taken from this pamphlet. Hereafter, Wood, 1838. (3) Ibid. (4) National Society Letter Piles for Christchurch, Birmingham. 1834« n.b.al]\N.S.L.F. refer to parishes or chapelries in Birmingham unless otherwise stated. These files are located at the National Society Record Office, Church House, Dean's Yard,Westminster. -10- extent and use of school provision, but unless it is clear what each figure represents, the task of compiling a reliable statement of attendance or numbers registered is rendered very difficult.

This point is not taken up by Hurt in his criticism of nineteenth century statistics, though he does bring in criticism of attendance figures. Professor West claimed that, nationally, the percentage of scholars on school books who were in regular attendance was 80$.^ ' This is challenged by Hurt who suggested that although two-thirds of parents (in West's evidence) claimed their children's attendance was better than (2\ 'very irregular', this did not mean that it was in fact regular. v ' The other part of West's evidence was the 1851 Census Report which he noted showed a 91$ attendance rate at private schools and a 79$ rate at public schools.^ ' Hurt has suggested that this is a mis-reading of the figures in that the percentages apply to census day, a particular day, and not to an average day. Hurt also commented that most figures were open to doubt, because before strict control was brought in over them,

'managers and teachers alike in the voluntary schools had an incentive to exaggerate the numbers. Sectarian zeal provides only part of the explanation. Dishonesty and incompetence provide the balance.' (4)

Professor West noted in a rejoinder to Dr. Hurt's article that none of the comments made could 'seriously qualify my statement that every important piece of statistical evidence on education between 1800 and 1830 points to significant growth'. (5}' He commented that he had criticised (1) West, 'Resource Allocation', p.85. n.b. Part of West's evidence was a local report showing one-third of children as 'irregular' in attendance. (2) Hurt, 'Professor West', pp.629-30. (3) West, 'Resource Allocation', p.85. (4) Hurt, 'Professor West', p.631. (5) E. G. West, 'The Interpretation of Early Nineteenth Century Education Statistics', Economic History Review, 2nd Series, Vol. XXIV, (1971)> p.640. n.b. West here refers to 1800-1830 as the period for statistics, but 1800-1840 in his earlier article. -11-

the Kerry findings more than Hurt, and that his figures were based also on Brougham's report of 1«1ti, a private survey of Brougham's of 1828 and the Mann census. There are, as already suggested however, statistical difficulties with the Brougham figures which Yfest does not seem to consider. In fact his repudiation of criticism mostly involves justifying his interpretations rather than defending the validity of his figures, which he seems to accept rather uncritically. West noted that Dr. Hurt's criticisms of the biases of managers and teachers when supplying figures were 'interesting but not sufficiently substantial seriously to qualify my general assumptions'. ' Again, there is no analysis of the validity of the figures.

There is little doubt that Dr. Hurt has made some valid criticisms of educational statistics, though most of his criticism is taken from 'faults' in the Kerry report. Evidence has shown that in places the statistics were biased, inflated, confused and inaccurate. Professor West has perhaps been rightly criticised, if too harshly and destructively, for his dependence on these figures. However, to dismiss these figures as being of little use, as Dr. Hurt does, seems to be a short-sighted action.

The statistical series in the past have been taken in isolation and criticised as single pieces of evidence, few detailed attempts having been made to confirm or supplement them by reference to and comparison with other documentary evidence; of which (in the local context) there is often a wealth of material available. Obviously, such a confirmation on a national scale would be extremely laborious and probably unworkable, but in the study of a locality such work can be done. In attempting this

(1) Ibid, p.640. -12- form of confirmation or supplementation it is easier to build up figures for the 'provided' schools than it is for the private ones; the difficulties that contemporaries had in locating private education being considerably magnified with the passage of time. Provided education, through its 'philanthropic' nature, has tended to leave much better records of its work. What form does this other relevant documentary evidence take, and how reliable is it ?

One of the major sources of further evidence has been the letter files of the National Society which contain correspondence from Anglican clergy, and sometimes committees of management, to the society. Much of the correspondence examined (up to 1852) concerned the building of schools, applications for grants and appeals for further aid. In the course of correspondence much interesting information was often given about the parish, St. Peter's it was noted was full of children 'half -famished and half-clothed'. ' The state of the schools was often revealed; 'In 1841 the Sunday Schools were uncomfortably full and many applications (2) for admission had been on the book many months'. ' References were frequently made to the extent and success of rival provision; the proximity of a Dissenting school to St. Peter's schools was noted, which 'offers great inducements ...& consequently it takes a great many of the Children that wd otherwise come to us 1 . ' Frequently statistical information was given of numbers registered on the books or the numbers of children in average attendance, 'Daily. Boys 298 (List) 190 (Attend). Girls 210 (List) 138 (Attend), 1 ^ ' as well as comments which indicated

NSLF, St. Peter's, 12.3-40. (2) NSLF, St. Marys, 0.1842. (3) NSLF, St. Peters, 26.10.46. (4) NSLF, St. Thomas, 21.7.42. -13- trends in the use of schools, such as that noting falling numbers at St. Bartholomew's school.^ ' It should be remembered in using these figures that the clergymen were often 'presenting a case' in their applications and that they may have been tempted to alter figures to strengthen their arguments. Balancing this, however, is the point that many clergymen would have resisted such temptation, provided honest answers to questions and given as reliable a set of statistics as possible, Such a conclusion as to the honesty of clergy evidence is supported in many cases by other confirmatory local evidence, which matches the clergy figures.

Another fruitful source of information of school provision and attendance has been the Minutes of the Committee of Council for Education; a source which has also helped in several instances to verify the validity of figures given by clergy in their correspondence with the National Society. As well as providing quantitative information, the 'Minutes', in the reports from inspectors, also provide qualitative assessments and criticism of teachers, methods, organization and etcetera. 'St. Peters Boys ...Mechanically, fair, without sufficient moral tone, ....More skill should be used ....His questions are not sufficiently exhaustive, nor are (2) they founded upon any association of ideas.* This source provides information on those schools which were grant-aided via the Committee of Council, which meant that mostly the schools dealt with were Anglican and National schools, though Dissenting schools were also included.^ '

Among the evidence collected which relates just to one particular investigation, the Worcester Diocesan Report on the educational situation

(1) NSLF, St. Bartholomews, 11.3.44. (2) Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education 1850-1, 2 Vols, (London), 1852, Vol.11, p.112. Hereafter, Mins. CCE.(i.e.1839-52). (3) See M. Sanderson, 'The National and British School Societies in Lancashire 1803-1830: the roots of Anglican supremacy in English education 1 , in T.G.Cook (Ed.), Local Studies and the History of Education, (London, 1972), for reasons why Anglicans achieved more grant aid than Dissenters. -14-

in 1841 has proved very useful.^ ' This report was prepared by the

National Schools Inspector, Rev. E. Feild, and covered many aspects of education - curciculum, attendance, discipline, finance - and contained

many detailed references to the state of education in Birmingham, that is,

Anglican education. At the end of Feild's report was a tabulation showing the attendances at the schools he visited. Although this information

was representative of only one day in the school year, Peild stated (2) that he felt this represented a very fair average of the usual attendance. '

The sources above mainly refer to Anglican schooling, and it seems that sources for Dissent of a national scope, such as those shown above for Anglicans, are not very extensive. The British and Foreign School Society, which was the nominal 'overseer 1 of 'Lancasterian' and 'British 1 schools, does not have a comprehensive set of records dealing with 'it's' schools - this partly being due to destruction of manuscript records during the war and partly to the looser control and connection of the British Society with its schools. The annual reports of the British and (3) Foreign Schools Society contain only few references to Birmingham schools.

The individual Dissenting communities did not develop their own national education organizations until the late 1830's and l840's - Methodists in 1838, Congregationalists in 1843 and Catholics in 1847* The Methodist archives hold copies of the annual Wesleyan Education Committee reports from which some information has been gathered, 'but the manuscript records of the local circuits provided virtually no

(1) Rev. E. Feild, 'State of Parochial Education in the Diocese of Worcester', in Annual Report of the National Society for 1841. (London, 1842). Hereafter Peild 1841. (2) Ibid., p.147. (3) British and Foreign Schools Society Annual Reports, (London). Hereafter BPAR. (4) Methodist Archives and Research Centre, City Road, London. -15-

information as no distinction was drawn "between the constituent parts t t of the Birmingham and Shrewsbury District , as the figures quoted below illustrate. The same being largely true of the Wesleyan Education Committee Reports.

TABLE 1

Example of Information on Birmingham from Methodist Records

Birmingham and Shrewsbury District; 1852 ______Boys___Girls____Mixed______Infants—————————— ———————————————————————————————————————————— Totals______Schools 5 2 18 5 30 (with 3236 pupils) v ' Pupils 1858 928 - 450 3236.^

The information which has proven most useful as regards Dissent­ ing provision has mostly come from the Sunday school committee books of individual chapels, particularly those of the Unitarians (Old and New Meetings) and the Congregationalists of Carrs Lane. The information provided in these minute books is very wide ranging including both qualitative and quantitative information. The qualitative statements often provide valuable checks on information given elsewhere. In 1831, for the Sunday School Jubilee, the two Unitarian Sunday schools decided to provide commemorative medals for their pupils, the minute books noting an order for some 1,300 medals, a number which tallies well with the claimed attendance rate for the schools found elsewhere in their minute books. ' It would seem that considerable reliability may be placed on the figures recorded in these minute books as they were merely serving an internal recording purpose, and apart from

(j) Wesleyan Education Committee Annual Report, 1852, (1853). (2) Minutes of Birmingham and Shrewsbury District for 1b52. Llinutes held in Methodist Archives, City Road, London. (3) New Meeting Sunday School Committee Minutes,30.8.31 and 11.11.31. Hereafter MSS; Old Meeting Sunday School Friendly Society Minutes. 27.3.31. Hereafter OMFS. These manuscript records are located in the Archives Dept.of Birmingham Reference Library. Tlds library hereafter BRL. -16- teachers or committee members, were unlikely to be seen once written - they served no propagandist purpose.

The wealth of sources described earlier is too large to deal with each individually, but three other types are worth mentioning. The reports of local societies or associations connected with the working class or education generally have much relevant information. One example is that of the Birmingham Lay Association, formed in 1839 to strengthen the Anglican cause in Birmingham. This produced a series of reports in the 1840's on the state of education in Birmingham with figures of numbers registered in the schools and also of those in average attend­ ance. Although an 'interested 1 party as regards education, it/s recordings of provision balance with others contemporary to it. Also of value, though for the period in question not that prevalent are 'autobiographical 1 references to the state of education in Birmingham, these occurring in published autobiographies and reminiscences, or in unpublished diaries, correspondence or in newspapers.

The second major source is that of school records where they have remained with the school. In Birmingham this applies to the Blue Coat Charity School and the King Edward's Schools whose internal records have provided much valuable statistical and descriptive materials, and would seem to have the same 'internal reliability 1 as the dissenting chapel's school minute books.

The third source which can provide information on the state of individual schools and the numbers of pupils registering or attending, is found either in local town directories or local nev/spapers. Local directories in the nineteenth century often had sections describing

'Educational Institutions' or 'Charitable Institutions' in which

(1) Church of England Lay Association of Birmingham and its Vicinity, Annual Reports, (Birmingham 1843-47)*BEL. -17- descriptions and accounts of schools were given. An 1849 directory listed all the 'provided 1 schools and gave information on them:

ST. GEORGE'S, Great Russell street, is a neat brick building, adjoining the Church, erected 1842, with a house for the master. Will accommodate 180 Boys, 200 Girls, and 200 Infants. The average attendance being 150 Boys, 90 Girls, and 150 Infants. Also a night school for those who cannot attend in the day. (1)

Local newspapers also provide much valuable evidence regarding the state of individual schools. In Birmingham, 'Aris's Gazette 1 and the 'Birmingham Journal 1 being two of the most informative newspapers in this respect. Aris's Gazette has provided much information on the early Anglican Sunday schools and the Lancasterian School with its accounts of their annual meetings and reports, as well as giving individual details of other schools at various times. The Birmingham Journal in the 1830's and 1840's sometimes, for example, reported meetings of committees connected with schools in which details of those schools were supplied. In 1842 the Birmingham Journal carried a notice advertising a bazaar for St. Matthews District and Parochial Schools; this notice also gave (2) details of the attendance at both the Sunday and day schools. x '

The use of these additional sources in the compilation of a statist­ ical pattern of provision has created additional problems for the interpretation of the figures.^ ' An immediate difficulty which becomes apparent in some cases is the contradiction which sometimes occurs in the figures provided by two 'reliable' sources. The National Society Report for 1820 noted 295 "boys and 149 girls attending the Birmingham National School, whereas the report of the school itself quoted 355 boys and 168 girls in attendance - a discrepancy of 80 places. ^' it is (1) F. white and Co., History and General Directory of the Borough of Birmingham (Sheffield, 1849), p.l6. (2) Birmingham Journal, 23.4-42. Hereafter BJ. (3) The compilation of my collected figures into a statistical table will be referred to as the 'local series' throughout this thesis. (4) Annual Report of the National Society for 1820. (London, 1821), Merearter JNb'Att; Report or tne .Birmingham Institution for the Education of Poor Children, 1S20 (Birmingham 1 £521') .Hereafter BNSAR. -18- possible that both figures may be correct but taken at different times of the year. When the dating and exact meaning of a figure is not clear, then obviously the possibility of contradiction and confusion exists. Even where a figure is quoted as that of ! average attendance 1 it is not always clear whether this is the average over a week, a month or a year.

The dating of a school's f academic* year also provided problems. Very few figures for average attendance or numbers on books refer to a January to December period; they tend to span months from two years (e.g. April, 1818 to March, 1819)- In such cases the average figure or total figure for the year has been put in the chronological year which contains most months of the academic year, in the above example the year 1818. Any imbalance will even out over the span of years.

The figures of school provision and use to be seen in Chapter 2 have been compiled to try to make the best possible use of the information available. As regards attendance levels, however, it has not proved possible to provide a 'total 1 figure for all schools in each year. It is only possible to show a 'total 1 figure for years when information on most schools in existence is available. This information is shown in Figures 3 and 4 in Chapter 2. These figures do not show a complete pattern of trends because of the difficulty of getting figures for each year for each school. As it is the development of trends and tendencies about which useful comment can be made on the nature of provision and its use, it seemed worthwhile to attempt the construction of a fuller set of figures using informed estimation.

It is possible, using contemporary comment and information from the types of source material just described, to reliably estimate the levels of provision in some schools for some of the years lacking stated figures.

An example of this procedure is shown below for the King Edward's

Elementary School in Gem Street. Founded in 1838 it was built to -19-

accommodate about 280 boys and girls, and was reported to be veil attended, giving an education 'to about 200 children 1 , according to the local incumbent.

TABLE 2 (2) Actual and Estimated Attendance at K.E. Gem St. School. 1838-1851______1838 39 AO Al L2 A3 LL A5 A6 4.7 A8 A3 50 1851 62 200* 220 229 2A2 2A5 2LL 2AO* 2AO* 2AO*2AO* 2AO* 240* 2AO *

The school records of the King Edward's foundation reveal that their elementary schools were all regularly full, so to complete the missing years the gaps have been estimated at 89^ of a full complement, a percentage taken from figures available for Gem St., and other King Edward schools. (3)

For other schools the above process is not feasible as there are too few figures and not enough written evidence for reliable estimation. In cases like this, as in Table 3 shown below, in order to minimise the effect of leaving a school out totally a minimum figure is projected for the missing years, a figure below which evidence suggests the schools attendance or registration on books never fell. This helps a pattern of trends to be seen by making an allowance (admittedly under recorded) for pupils known to be at school although the definite evidence is lacking. The extent of the estimations and allowances are shown in Appendix A. TABLE 3. Attendance. Actual and Allowed, at the Lancasterian Girls' School: 1838-51. 1838 39 AO Al L2 L3 LL £5 A6 A7 4.8 A9 50 1851 136 100? 100? 10C? 100? 1009100*? 10091009100? 100? 100? 100? 102

(1) NSLF, Bishop Ryders, 2.3.-40 (2) Wood. 1838, p.19; Gem St. Admission Register 18AO-AA.located in King Edwards School Archives, Birmingham, n.b. Asterisk denoted the estimated figures in all tables. (3) Gem St., Edward St., Meriden St registers in King Edwards School Archives. (4) Further explanation of this procedure is given in Chapter 2. (5) Wood,1838, p. Mann,1851. n.b. Question mark denotes allowed figure. -20-

This use of estimation to help build up a picture of educational provision could be criticised as the mere setting up of arbitrary

figures, and that any discussion or conclusions based on them would be invalid and meaningless. This might be so if the figures estimated were being presented as accurate yearly indicators in their own right. However, it is not the immediate accuracy of each individual figure that is being discussed, but the general trends which the combination of figures show. There are sufficient first hand figures (see Appendix A) to enable the compilation to have a solid base from which discussion and comment may be drawn. It would seem better to venture positive explanations on the basis of source material backed with informed estimation, than merely to back away from the problem by saying the statistics are valueless because they are not complete or fully reliable.

Having considered the general criticisms of the statistical series and suggested ways in which they can be checked and improved on, it will be instructive to see how they compare with the compiled series of figures. Do they roughly match or are there considerable discrepancies ?

The Brougham report of 1818 has been criticised, as mentioned earlier, for tendency to ignore dissenting and private provision. This was a criticism which certainly held true for Birmingham. Of the seven churches or chapelries/under consideration, ' only one (Deritend and Bordesley) was reported as having any private schools; they contained f?\ 420 children out of a total of the whole of 2552; that is, c.l6$. v ' Yet as the advertisement columns of Aris ' s Gazette reveal there was a

(1) St. Martins, St. Pauls, St. Philips, St. Marys, St. James, Deritend and Bordesley, and Edgbaston.

(2) Brougham, 1818, p. 997* under Aston; Deritend and Bordesley. -21-

considerable amount of private education in existence in Birmingham,

and though most of those advertising were not within the scope of the

report - 'the education of the poor 1 - there is every reason to suppose

that there was in the other six church-chapelries a considerable amount

of 'infant, alphabetical and common schools... 1 ^ ' Similarly,

although in 1818 there was a thriving Lancasterian School and a well

established Protestant Dissenting Charity School catering for some 500 (2) children, 'they received no mention by name in the report and seemingly were not covered by the figures. Neither does the growing Dissenting

Sunday school provision get any acknowledgment of its existence.^ '

The only concession to the existence of Dissenting schools comes in the return by the curate of St. Martins. His evidence noted after mentioning various schools 'and schools, supported by Dissenters of

different denominations.'^ '

As might be expected the returns relating to Anglican schools are more complete, and also they seem from comparison with other figures to be fairly accurate. The King Edwards 'English 1 schools, six in number

for boys, were accredited by Brougham in 1818 as having 4&4 boys. v(5) '

The records of the schools themselves do not have figures for 1818, but do have for the following two years when they had 413 boys (from

5 schools) and 453 boys (from all 6 schools),^ 'figures which substantiate

0) Ibid, p.983. (2) Aris's Gazette, 11.5.18 reporting Protestant Charity School Sermon: and 14»12.18 with Annual Lancasterian School Report, n.b. Hereafter Aris's Gazette given as AG. (3) This provision is well attested to in both newspaper reports of sermons for the schools as well as in minute books of the various chapels. (4 Brougham, 1818, p.99?. Ibid. Figares compiled from surviving school lists (unpublished) in the archives of the King Edward's School. -22-

Brougham's returns. Similarly Brougham's fig-are of 123 boys for the

King Edwards Grammar School was supported by Carlile's note of 130 boys in I8l8p ' and his figure of upwards of 150 boys and girls at the Blue

Coat school confirmed by the Blue Coat School records which noted 158 (2\ children in 1816.^ ' As far as the reliability of Brougham's figures is

concerned, the evidence suggests that those relating to individually

mentioned Anglican schools were accurate, that most children attending Anglican schools, day or Sunday, were included (Brougham mentions about

1900 attending presumed Anglican Sunday schools - the Birmingham Sunday

Schools claiming an attendance of 1207 in 181$, 'but that dissenting

and private education is under-mentioned in the observations, and

seriously under-estimated or not accounted for in the figures.

The Kerry report which related to 1833 was also subjected to much

criticism based on its under-recording of both private and provided

schooling. The Statistical Society report for Birmingham of 1838 commented on the inadequacy of Kerry's report, and declared "that the (4) information furnished by the Government returns was vague and imperfect. |X The greatest discrepancy in Kerry seems to have been in private schooling enumeration. The overseers who made the returns noted at the bottom of the Birmingham report,

That this statement is very defective as regards the private Schools; the above number, probably, not being more than half the real amount, on account of the masters and mistresses declining to make returns. (5)

Certain difficulties arise in checking the validity and reliability

of the Kerry Report. It was based on individual parish surveys with no

(1) Nicholas Carlile, A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales, 2 vols. (London, 1818), Vol.2, p.631. (2) Short Account of the Charity School in St. Philips Churchyard in Birmingham; 1724-1817, (Birmingham, 1817). (3) AG. 7«12.18.(The latter not including Aston-in-Birminghaia schools. (4) Wood. 1838, p.2. (5) Kerry, 1833, p.991. -23-

further breakdown into chapelries as Brougham's had done. Consequently, Aston parish is dealt with as one unit, whereas in this thesis only the chapelries of Bordesley and Deritend, and Duddeston cum Nechells from Aston parish have been examined. (These chapelries being the parts of Aston parish incorporated into the Borough of Birmingham in 1838). Thus direct comparisons are rendered more difficult.

A further problem is created by Kerry's inexactitude of definition.

A few schools are mentioned by name with the numbers attending, but others are grouped together - 'in five others are 81 males and 51

females',^ ''such references being virtually impossible to identify. Farther confusion is created by the lack of distinction between those attending both day and Sunday schools and those at day or Sunday school, meaning that some scholars were counted twice, inflating the figures.

The cross checking via other sources has shown the criticism of Kerry's

Report to be just criticism, the figures of his report generally under- (2} estimating the schooling available. '

Of the 'general series' of statistical figures available, the report

of the Birmingham Statistical Society for the Improvement of Education in 1838 was the fullest and seemingly most useful. ' J. R. Wood was commissioned to conduct the society's survey of education, having already reported on several other towns; reports which were acknowledged as being accurate. The Slaney Committee examined Wood and his evidence and noted that, as regards his reports, they had 'every reason to be satisfied of their substantial accuracy. 1 ^ ' The evidence for the

(1) Ibid., p.992. (2; See Table 4 below. (3) Tne society was formed in 1838. For details see Cullen, Statistical Movement, pp.124-5• (4) Slaney, 1838, p.iv. Cullen, Statistical Movement, p.112 commented that J. R. Wood was *an agent of high ability'. -24-

Birmingham report was gathered from January to April 1838, and later that year Wood was questioned specifically on this report by the Slaney

Committee. This Committee noted that both Anglicans and Dissenters were involved in the local statistical society, and they asked a member of the society, John Corrie (a Unitarian magistrate in Birmingham), if the account of Birmingham would be correct. He answered that 'It will be a perfectly fair and unprejudiced account 1 . (1}' The thoroughness of

Wood's survey has already been suggested, and V/ood himself was satisfied of its accuracy. In his evidence to the Slaney Committee he noted that,

At the same it becomes me to say that /my reports/ have not been undisputed, and I feel obliged to those parties who have disputed them, because ...they have not been able to touch any of the points with respect to the accuracy of the facts; as to the deductions, of course persons will come to very different conclusions from the same premises'. (2)

The cross checking procedure to a very great extent has confirmed the reliability of Wood's survey, as regards provided schooling. '

The last major statistical series to be considered was that compiled by Horace Mann in connection with the 1851 census. The education questionnaire was far more searching than either of 1818 or 1833 and seems to have been more reliable in its results, particularly as regards private education. Dr. Hurt has referred to Llann, 'picking his way through the statistical minefield with great care'^ ' and in general with other historians accredits greater reliability to Mann's figures than to the earlier surveys. As mentioned earlier, Hurt has criticised West's use of Mann's attendance figures, noting that the figures are not of average attendance but just of attendance on census day. (5)' What both

(1 Slaney, 1838, question 932. (2 Ibid., question 1073- See Table 4. Hurt, 'Professor West 1 , p.627. (5) Ibid., p.630. -25-

Hurt and '.Vest lack in their debate in the figures is a detailed examination of the figures and direct references to them. One historian who has studied the returns has noted that for small areas 'the margin of unreliat>ility is considerable 1 , though at a county level it is fairly reliable.^ '

The cross checking and compilation of a local 'series' of figures has tended to confirm the pattern of education suggested in the Mann figures. /n.b. The Mann report produced two sets of figures relating to Birmingham - one for Birmingham Borough, the other the registration district of Birmingham. The Borough figures being used for comparison, (2) etcetera in this thesis/. ' The chart shown below in Table 4 sets out the statistics of estimated average attendance compiled from the local series in comparison with the general series.

TABLE

Differences of Estimated Attendance in Schools in comparison of General and Local 'Series'

Year SUNDAY SUNDAY DAY DAY (General Series) (Local Series) (General Series) (Local Series'

1818 3,025 c.8000 2,132 1,906 1833 12,646 c. 12-13, 000 2,724 2,577 1838 12,224. ? 4,067 4,153 1851 14,376 ? 9,668 8,420

(1) Coleman, 'Incidence of Education', p.401. (2) Mann, 1851, Tables P, S, and T. (3) This table is based on Brougham, 1818; Kerry, 1833; Wood, 1851; and the 'local series' compiled from the sources outlined in this chapter and noted in Appendix A. -26-

The figures in Table 4. suggest that the returns of 1838 and 1851 vere more accurate than those of 1818 and 1833> the earlier returns suffering from under-recording, (n.b. the 1813 and 1833 General Series are more likely to be registration rather than attendance figures). The 1851 local series is lower due to an absence of evidence on certain schools. It may be suggested that the figures to be found in these 'official1 surveys perhaps represent the minimum amount of schooling being undertaken at these dates.

Finally, a programme for the use of the statistics is needed - what sort of statistics will be valuable in discussing the schooling of the working class? In attempting to ascertain the course of the provision of schooling for working class children it is important to know when new schools were built, so that some index of educational initiative may be arrived at. Information on the foundation rate of schools, though valuable, is not on its own an adequate guide to the state of schooling as it makes no allowance for school closures. Consequently, it is also necessary to examine the stock of schools existing at any one point in time. This enables the state of school provision to be seen more clearly and opens the way for comment and analysis of providing activity to be made.

Such statistics as those just mentioned do not reveal the use being made of the provided schooling, which is perhaps of the greatest importance. The levels of attendance in schools are far better indicators of changing education activity and provision than the other statistics, in that they refer directly to the children using the schools, rather than to the schools as buildings where schooling may be obtained. It may not prove possible to provide exact rates of average attendance for all schools, but it should be emphasized again that exact numerical -27- accuracy is not essential, nor should it seriously be expected.

What must be aimed for is a compilation of available figures to as near an approximation of the 'correct 1 number as is possible. The compilation can then be used as an indicator of broad trends and tendenc­ ies from which comment can be made. It is spurts of growth, plateaus of stagnation and contractions of provision that require comment and explanation in order that some assessment of the motives and reasons behind the provision and use of schooling can be made. The use of •official 1 series and the compilation of a local series from the rich source material already outlined, means that a valid statistical series of this nature can be constructed, It is surely important to use this material and work with it rather than leave it untouched because of its difficulties and dangers. Chapter 2 provides such a statistical compilation, - 28 -

CHAPTER 2

THE STATISTICS OF SCHOOLING IN BIRMINGHAM 1781-1851:

SCHOOLS AND SCHOLARS

'What are the means provided for the education of the poor at Birmingham? - Excellent; . . . , in short, there is education to be had for any one who will apply for it; 1 (l)

The aim of this chapter is to present the statistical material gathered from the sources described in Chapter 1, and then to examine and comment on the trends and movements shown in the provision and use of schooling. The opening section is a statistical survey of the state of provision circa 1781 which is used as a base for evaluating the development of ensuing years.

The following sections of the chapter chart the various statistics of educational activity. Section II notes the founding of schools, both day and Sunday, from which points of educational activity can be seen; it also adds clarification to the foundation charts by detailing the existing stock of schools at any one time, enabling declines in school provision to be noted. In Section III figures of average attendance are presented, showing the use made by working class children of provided schooling.

The final section of the chapter relates these figures to the

Birmingham and national context. The amount of education being achieved per head of the local population is considered so that the depth of schooling may be ascertained. Similarly, calculations are also made

(l) Select Committee Report on Children Employed in the Manufactories of the United Kingdom, P.P. I8l6 (397) Vol.Ill, p.124.Evidence of Theodore Price, Birmingham magistrate and King Edward's School Governor. - 29 - and comparisons drawn as to the extent of Birmingham's provision in relation to England as a whole, as well as to certain other specific areas.

The figures and tables presented in this chapter suggest trends and tendencies in schooling provision and the use of schooling which succeeding chapters will examine and discuss.

What was the nature of schooling provided for working class children in Birmingham in 1781, and how many of them were using it? Table 5 below details the provided day schools in existence in 1781 with the numbers of children attending them at that time.

TABLE 5

APPROXIMATE EXTENT OF PROVIDED SCHOOLING

IN BIRMINGHAM : c. 1781-1791* 1 ' Year Average Attendance Name of School Founded Boys Girls Total Free Grammar: K.E. VI 1552 81* 0 81* 4 English Schools: " 1752 155 9 164 1 English School : " 1764 * ? 30* Shut Lane : " 1776 40* 0 40* Blue Coat Charity: 1724 79 30 109 Growl ey's Charity 1773 0 10 10 Protestant Dissenting Charity 1760 36 18 54 Total for 10 schools 391+ 67+ 488 * These figures are estimates

(2) The figures in this table come from various years in the decade and their total does not apply to any one year. See Appendix A for details of estimated figures. See also; in KES Archives, English School Registers, 1787-8; Blue Coat School Archives, School Register, 1783; V.C.H., Warwicks, Vol.VII, p.511; William Bates, A Pictorial Guide to Birmingham, (Birmingham. 1849). - 30 -

The provision of schooling for the -working class in 1781 was based on an Anglican endowed charity system. Most notable among the schools were those controlled by the Governors of the King Edward's Free Grammar

School. This school, established and endowed by Edward VI in 1552 provided

a mixed classical and modern education for boys. As early as 1676 the

Governors had extended the curriculum from just pure classics to include

English, writing, and the casting of accounts.* ' The pupils of the

Free Grammar School were mostly from bourgeois families, a scattering

were from parents of the artizan class, but virtually none came from the (2} labouring section of Birmingham's working class. v '

Though the Free Grammar School did not provide schooling for the

children of the working class, other schools run by the Governors did.

In 1750 the Governors felt there was a lack of educational provision in

the town, and so they determined to open schools for the poor and extend

the benefits of the endowment. These schools, to be called 'English

Schools', were to teach poor children the English language, and were to

be held in the houses of the teachers appointed; five of these were

founded. A sixth school was commenced in 1776 to teach the English

language, but also 'Writing, Drawing and Accounts. 1 * '

The Blue Coat Charity School was the other major Anglican endowed

school for the poor, and was founded in 1724 so that children might be

(1) J.C. Tyson, Elementary education provided by the Governors of the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth in Birmingham, 1731-1883 i (Thesis, M.A., University of Birmingham, I960), pp.4 and 5*

(2) For a more detailed analysis of the social background of children at King Edward's School see Chapter 8.

(3) G.O.R. 6.3.50/1. ibid. 4.5.74. - 31 -

•clothed, maintained, educated, and bound apprentices . . (and be) ... rescued from the contagion of bad examples. f (l)

The school initially accommodated 32 children but by the early 1780's had over 100 pupils. Unlike the King Edward's foundation which possessed considerable estates, the Blue Coat School's endowments and legacies were not sufficient to keep it solvent, and it relied heavily on subscriptions and voluntary contributions. There was one other endowed Anglican school, that of Ann Crowley, whose will provided for ten poor children of (2) Birmingham to be taught to read by a poor woman in her own house. v '

The other school which provided for the poor was the Protestant Dissenting Charity School, founded by Unitarians in 1760, for children of both sexes. Unlike both the Free Grammar School and the Blue Coat School, it was open to children of all denominations - parents being free to send their children on Sunday to whichever Church or Chapel they chose. The finances of the school were based on voluntary contributions and the proceeds of charity sermons, but mainly on subscriptions which gave the subscribers the right to nominate pupils to the school. '

The amount of provision shown above was not very great when compared with the total population. An estimation of a Birmingham population of about 46,500 has been made for 1781, the working class child proportion of that being around 11,250. This would mean that that approximately

(1) A Short Account of the Blue Coat Charity School, Birmingham, (Birmingham 1806). (2) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. VII, p.511. (3) E. Bushrod, The History of Unitarianism in Birmingham from the middle of the eighteenth century to 1893*(Thesis, M.A., University of Birmingham, 1954). (4) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. VII, p.8. The 1781 figure is calculated from Thomas Hanson, Plan of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1778)> and from his . similar publication in 1785 which gives population figures. For explanations of worlcing class child proportion see Appendix B. - 32 - one child in every twenty one was in receipt of a provided education, from amongst the working class. This figure is probably exaggerated by the number of boys from wealthy families of the bourgeoisie at the Free Grammar School, a number not possible to calculate.

The number of working class children being educated in 178! was almost certainly greater than the figure quoted above, which excludes private education. It is, however, almost impossible to ascertain the extent of private education at this time, owing to the lack of surviving records of private schools. That private education was extensive, there is little doubt. A survey of the advertisements in Aris's Gazette for private schools in 1780 reveals 22 schools, and the directories throughout the following years have considerable listings of 'Academies' and 'Professors 1 of various subjects, all of whom were involved in private education.

Though the existence of extensive private education is clear, it seems that most of the advertisements in the newspapers applied to schools which taught children of the bourgeoisie. This seems clear from the nature of fees, curriculum and requisites demanded. ' No trace is found in the newspaper or other sources of the private schools utilized by the working class. The dame or common day schools which they would have used presumably needed no advertizing as they were an indigenous response to a local and immediate social need.

The discussion on the extent of working class education, for the reasons outlined above, does not deal in any detail with private working clans schools. It is not even possible to present a reliable picture of the extent of private education in toto, because of the scarcity of

(l) AG. 13.3.15. This issue contained a typical advert, for a Lr. Bristow's school; annual fee 8 gns., plus 2 gns. for Latin and Greek, and £1.11.6 for stationery, books, etc. - 33 - detailed evidence. Where surveys have noted private schooling, reference and comparison will be made to them and the extent of provided schooling.

II

One way of examining the development of schooling provision is to plot the incidence of school foundation. This has proved very difficult in the case of Sunday schools up until the early 1820 f s. The reason being that the early Sunday schools were often conducted either within the body of the church or at the homes of lay teachers, rather than in

separate Sunday school buildings, this making their dating and identification very difficult. References to the early Sunday schools tend to be very general and their meanings sometimes obscure. Reference, for example, may be made to 'St. Martin's Sunday Schools 1 without clarifying whether they are schools in the church, in attached chapels, or in the homes of lay teachers. In late eighteenth century Birmingham it seems probable that the Anglican Sunday schools were run in the last mentioned manner.

The 1786 annual Sunday School report details 59 schools in the town. '

It would seem possible that each teacher's class was accounted a school, (2) for in 1791 the report mentioned 44 teachers, ' by which time (as later figures in this chapter show) there had been a decline in support and numbers.

The Sunday school movement in Birmingham, as in England, had an instant impact. Nationally the movement spread rapidly from its inception by Robert Raikes in Gloucester in 1783. The Gloucester Journal reported

(1) AG. 2.10.86.

(2) Report of the State of the Sunday Schools in Birmingham, at Michaelmas, 1791» (Birmingham, 1791). - 34 - that

very large subscriptions have been made in Leeds, Halifax, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham .... and many other towns for the instruction of poor children, who are engaged in work the rest of the week. f (l)

A Sunday school committee was formed in Birmingham in June 1784 after correspondence in Aris's Gazette and a public meeting.

After the initial foundation and rapid growth of Sunday schools,

1784-86, shown in Table 6, there was a split between the Anglicans and

Dissenters supporting the schools, from which point a separate Dissenting

Sunday school movement grew, which will be considered subsequently. The years following this split reveal a contraction in the Anglican provision.

The number of schools continued to drop and in 1804 the annual report of the Anglican Sunday schools noted

•a decrease in the number of schools, occasioned chiefly by the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient attendance... f (2)

TABLE 6

THE NUMBERS OF ANGLICAN SUNDAY SCHOOLS

IN BIRMINGHAM 1784-1851

Year Information Source No. Year Information Source No'i

1784 Aris 1 Gazette 24 1833 Kerry Report c.15 1786 Aris 1 Gazette 59 1838 Wood Report 15 1816 National Society Report 21 184! Feild Report 17 1818 Brougham Report 14 1851 Mann Report 24

(1) Gloucester Journal, 11.10.84. (2) AG. 8.10.04. (3) The schools noted in 1784 and 1786 were not strictly Anglican Sunday schools as until late 1786 the schools were also open to children who attended Dissenting chapels. As Chapter 4 shows, however, they were Anglican organized and controlled from their founding. - 35 -

In 1810 the committee of the Anglican Sunday schools decided that in order to encourage more support and better attendance the schools would "be divided into five groups connected specifically with the churches and chapels. ' This also confirms the view that previously the schools were more teacher-based and less centrally controlled. Succeeding new

Sunday schools were also specifically connected to churches - the number (2) of groups increased to six with the foundation of St. Georges 1 in 1822. ' By 1851 there were 24 schools, but in considering the latter figures of the table it should be remembered that these are referring to schools with several teachers, whereas the early figures probably represent one school to one teacher; this suggesting a greater increase than might be assumed from the figures.

Information on the foundation and number of Dissenting Sunday schools has proved even more difficult to locate, partly for reasons already mentioned and partly because there was little public annual reporting by the various denominations of their Sunday school work such as was provided by the Anglican schools. ' Evidence of the growth of Dissenting Sunday schooling is scattered, however, in the wealth of local material already outlined, and from this a rough guide to the pattern of Dissenting Sunday school foundation can be constructed. Table 7 provides such figures as are available.

The first Dissenting Sunday schools were those of the Unitarians begun in 1787 and 1788 by the Old and New Meetings respectively. In the

1790's the Methodists, Carrs Lane Independents, and the Baptists also

(1) AG. 3.12.10. The two churches were St. Martin's and St. Philip's, the three chapels St. Bartholomew's, St. Paul's and St. Mary's.

(2) Ibid. 24.12.21.

(3) This applying particularly to the years prior to the 1830 1 s. - 36 - started their own Sunday schools. ' Evidence of the spread of Dissenting

Sunday schools Is found in the Anglican Sunday School reports. In 1806 it was noted that Dissenting Sunday Schools were

1 rapidly extending, and their moral and political influence is becoming every year more important.(2)

Aris's Gazette also reported in 1806 the opening of two Methodist Sunday schools, for which

'Applications .... are so numerous . . . .' (3)

The Baptist school was seemingly flourishing for in 1805 the early premises

were demolished and a new three storey building erected. ' The Anglican

report of 1807 referred once again to the increasing Dissenting provision (R) which was outstripping the Anglican provision. ' This spread of Dissenting Sunday schools continued from the l8lO's to the 1840s with new congregations opening schools as well as existing ones often establishing branch schools.

Although exact numerical proof of school foundation is difficult to discover, it is possible to trace the development of Dissenting Sunday schooling. Table 7 suggests a steady rise in the number of Dissenting

(1) S.J. Mills, 'A Short Sketch of Cherry Street (now Central) Sunday School 1 , in Central Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School Minute Book, 1895. Read as a paper 25.11.95. These and other Cherry St. records are held at Central Hall, Corporation Street, Birmingham. (2) A.G. 20.10.06.

(3) Ibid., 24.11.06.

(4) J.W. Showell, 'Early History of the Baptists in Birmingham 1 , in Cannon Street Chapel, Report of the recognition services on the settlement of the Rev. I. Lord as pastor, (Birmingham 1858). (5) AG. 19.10.07. - 37 -

Sunday schools. This rise is confirmed by the additional descriptive evidence available from the local source material. The main trend suggested by these figures is a steady growth, with perhaps a suggestion that that the expansion of Dissenting Sunday schooling slowed during the l840's; these trends will be discussed in detail later.

TABLE 7

NUMBER OF DISSENTING SUNDAY SCHOOLS

IN BIRMINGHAM ; 1787-1831

Year Source of Information No. Year Source of Information ITo. 1787 Local compilation^ ' 1 1833 Kerry Report c.26 (2) 1806 Local compilationv ' increa- 1838 Wood Report 41 sing 1818 Brougham Report Some 1851 Mann Report 44

The compilation of figures for provided day schools proved easier than for Sunday schools. As with the Sunday schools there is sometimes a lack of clarity in the descriptions of definitions of schools. Three

schools, for example, of vague description existed in Well Street., but

there is little evidence with which to identify or differentiate between

them. ' Despite this, the fact that provided day schools were usually located in specific buildings, often purpose built, has meant that tracing and identifying them has proved easier. As with Sunday schooling,

Anglican schools have left better records than the Dissenting schools.

The expansion of provided day schooling is shown in Figure 1 which details the incidence of day school foundation for both Anglican and

(1) Rev. J. Wood., A Short History of the Old Meeting Church and Sunday Schools, (Birmingham 1897), p.6.

(2) AG. 20.10.06.

(3) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. VII, p.532. •-] "TT.I. , •I :i;;::::. j ... i.,,:.! FIGURE 1

EXPANSION OF PROVIDED DAY SCHOOLS IN BIRMINGHAM L>A' DA1 :• i , ^FOUN IN ii:.!,^;LL;:i.i,:=iL.;;..-:.!,. fit CES; ...:;. .! ; . ' •i:!i|fi i . .... - r ,-—t-r~ — r L_u.:_ .liliiLrly —H p_.,...... f ._..._. !' :_ ' ' 'I •.:;•':' {'"•'.': L : - : !;:;; • : i ' : :J i. 5 . r" i " , ;••: :: ; . •'! 1 ... 4...... r .... . » — ...... _. .-..; ': -•!' - ..: ; • ' ' .j.^- . • ' : '. • • • i — —- ' ' ' ; -t .!'.:: : ' ::.. '. '. ,:. ' . ' . ' 3 !:: : i- : ' _r 2 1 .: 1781 .- 82._. 83... 84 85 86 .-:_ 87 88 91 92 93 94 •',]:'':':>"•:'... !• ; ;. I . '•.'.•:..• i ; • :jm-^j;,:i •:::,.;.:•. i • _..5- 4 3 m:* : ' ;:::!• .' '1 :;;;;; 1795... 96 97 ....98 99 00 01 02 „ 03 04 05 06 07 08 • ; ! : ...... ;._. j__-_—..;_ -:.-.-.;...... ;. ... . TV"-!™. . .,_^_ ii4^1::~r:'"CTi? •T--H-;--F T::-. ... " illl 11809,.. ..i 10 11 12 13 14 . 15...... 16 17 16 19 20 21 22 ! ...: .. ----— :,i.. -h.'ri- • ~ . ...| . .1 .:-._,- .;. -j_£^'-^

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Ve'.'tical jixi.3 wiiowa nuuibo.j; of: :><;iiOi>La. - 38 - non-Anglican schools. ' The development of Anglican day schooling as shown suggests a series of activity points, notably the 1790's, the late l820 f s - early l830 f s, and then the l840's. An examination of some of these foundations suggests the activity that they seem to represent was not as widespread as it might appear.

The foundations of 1790, 1794 and 1801 were all extensions to the (?\ King Edward's English Schools network. ' The last two were for girls only, the other English schools having ceased to be mixed, catering by then for boys only. A large proportion of the 1790 f s activity was thus the activity of one influential group, rather than being part of a widespread awakening interest in education. Similarly, four of the foundations of 1797 were Anglican Schools of Industry run by one ladies committee, and again were representative of only one small providing group. '

The next period of activity, c.1807-18l6, was to a great extent associated with the spread of monitorial schools. The Lancasterian school for boys was built in 1809 and a separate girls' school built in 1813, though no early records of this latter school appear to have survived. ' The Anglican version of the monitorial school - the National School - was built in 1812 and had a girls 1 department added in 1814. Of the other foundations in this period, that of 1806 was a small girls 1 (5) school in Edgbaston, about which little is known; ' the other, in 1812,

(1) The information for this figure is based on the local compilation.

(2) GOR. 28.4.90; 21.10.94; 9.12.01. (3) Returns Relative to the Poor, (1803-4), XIII. (4) The Lancastrian Girls' School was noted by Wood in 1838 and referred to in the Birmingham Infant School Society Minutes, (BRL.300098), but no records of the school itself seem to have survived. It amalgamated with the boys' school in 1851.

(5) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. VII, p.511. - 39 - the foundation of a Deaf and Dumb Asylum whose small number of pupils were not necessarily from Birmingham/ 1 ' The starting of the Lancasterian and National school societies did not, as sometimes suggested, start off a steady expansion of schooling; (2)v ' as Figure 1 shows, the years 1817-22 were devoid of any fresh educational foundation, either Anglican or non-

Anglican. It was only in 1823 with the opening of the Catholic day school that another non-Anglican day school came into existence. Similarly, it was thirteen years after the first National School was founded in Pinfold Street before a second one was opened in Bordesley in 1825.

The other activity points to be noted, and these would seem to be the major ones, are the late 1820 f s - early 1830 f s, and then the late 1830*3 - 1840's. These two periods saw the expansion of National Schools and the entry of individual Dissenting denominations into the provision of day schooling, as well as the first attempts at inter-denominational provision with the Infant School Society foundations of the late l820*s. ^ ' The great majority of the 35 new Anglican foundations from 1825 onwards were of National Schools, though, as will be seen later, the King Edward's foundation also increased its provision. Of the non-Anglican denominations

(1) Account of the General Institution .... for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Children, (Birmingham, 1814). (2) S.J. Gurtis, History of Education in Great Britain, (1963, 5th edition) p.208. Curtis notes that c.1812-1830 'statistics furnished show an amazing rate of growth 1 . G.M. Trevelyan, British History in the Nineteenth Century and After (178241919), (1937), p.l63. Trevelyan noted that after c.l8l2 '"British" and "National" schools multiplied .... In I8l8 as many as 600,000 children out of two million were attending schools of some sort. 1 It is uncritical statements like these which have led to an assumption that schooling "mushroomed" after and with the founding of the monitorial schools. (3) The first two Infant Schools of this society have been recorded under 'non-Anglican 1 foundations in Figure 1. The others are recorded as they were seemingly attached to the local churches. - 40 - the Wesleyans founded about 10 schools, the Independents 7 schools, and the Catholics 8 schools between 1823 and 1851, as well as other schools from smaller denominations. Despite the expansion, by 1851 the non- Anglican schools numbered only about two fifths of the total of all day schools.

Although a consideration of school foundations is useful in high­ lighting periods of activity, it does not provide a complete view of provision as no allowance is made for school closures. Figure 2 makes this allowance by showing the total stock of schools in existence in each year. The pattern of Anglican day school stock shown in Figure 2 bears out the comments made in reference to school foundation: activity in the 1790's etcetera, but no sustained increase until the l830's. Figure 2, however, shows a decline in Anglican provision: the late l820 f s which was not shown by Figure 1. This decline was caused by the closure of the King Edward's English Schools which, after the Eldon judgement of 1805 were thought to have a dubious legality relative to the terms of the school's charter. Aris 1 Gazette noted that

'by a recent order in Chancery, the Branch School in Shutt Lane, on the f&indation of King Edward's Free Grammar School in this town, is declared to be unauth­ orised by the charter; and in consequence it will be discontinued. . . .' (l)

Figure 2 highlights clearly a marked shift in the nature of Anglican provision around 1830. Prior to this there was little activity, and vis-a-vis the population even regression in provision, subsequent to

1830 there is growth and activity, and significantly it is sustained growth. Figure 2 also shows that the Dissenting provision, as suggested by the foundation rates, had a slower growth but with greater activity (?) post 1830. v '

(1) AG. 14-12.29. (2) Figure 2 is based on information from the local compilation.

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III

It was suggested in Chapter 1 that perhaps the most useful statistics were those of average attendance. Unfortunately, the surviving evidence of Anglican and Dissenting Sunday school statistics has proved insufficient to construct a full graph of average attendance or even of the numbers registered on the books. Although several Dissenting schools provide detailed figures of registration and attendance for much of the period, there are so many other Dissenting schools with no surviving records that it is impossible to build up a school by school compilation of Dissenting provision. ' Even the collective grouping of the Dissenting "Birmingham

Sunday School Union" provides little help of a statistical nature. No records of this Union survive for its first phase 1814-1832, and it is only after its second formation in 1842 that it provides any statistics, (2) these being from 1847 onwards. v ' The Anglican figures were a little easier to compile for the period before 1824, this being because of the reprinting in Aris 1 Gazette of the annual Anglican Sunday schools 1 committee report. After this time evidence is much more scattered, and although much material relating to Anglican schools is to be found, especially in the National Society records, most of it is in reference to day schools, Sunday schools generally receiving less emphasis.

Figure 3 has been constructed so as to illustrate the available statistical information on attendance and registration. The graph shows for the years where there is sufficient evidence the levels of attendance, as well as at certain times the numbers registered on the

(1) Apart from consecutive and fully detailed records of some schools, several statistical references are found in other contemporary records for some of the schools. (2) The records of the Birmingham Sunday School Union are housed at Westhill College, Birmingham. Hereafter BSSU. Statistical details are reprinted in: Birmingham Sunday School Union Quarterly Record, Vols. 1 and 2, 1848-51 and 1851-54, (Birmingham 1848-55). A

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I200C - 42 - books. Included for comparison and comment are the "official series" of government and Statistical Society figures. Some of the information in Figure 3 which is used for compiling the attendance figures is based on the reports in Aris 1 Gazette of the numbers of children attending annual processions or meeting.^ ' These figures are not of average attendance, it is more than likely in fact that as prestige occasions they would have a larger turn out than normal. Nevertheless, such an expanded turn out would undoubtedly still be below the registration level of numbers on the books, the latter being cumulative figures (2) including those who came once and then never again. ' Thus the processional attendance figures have a greater affinity to the average attendance levels than to the registration levels, and so consequently

they have been included with known levels of average attendance. This probably means that the years when these have been included show an

inflated average attendance, and this must be borne in mind in considering

the trends in Figure 3. This will not however affect the pattern of trends.

One of the most notable features of the early Anglican figures is the long gradual decline up to 1810 and the lack of growth before the

late 1820*s. The initial decline 1787-91 followed as a result of a

split in the nominally undenominational Sunday schools when the Unitarians formed their own Sunday schools; other Dissenting groups following suit in the later 1790's. During the first years of Anglican Sunday schooling attendance rarely exceeded 1500 and was never less than 950,

(1) For Dissent 1823-25 and 1831 see: AG.7.4.23; 26.4.24; 11.4.25; 19.9.31. For Anglicans 1823, 26-7, 31-2, 34, 36-8, see: AG.26.5.23; 22.5.26; 11.6.27; 30.5-31; 18.6.32; 26.5.34; 13.3.37; 22.5-37.

(2) In 1827 the Birmingham National School Report noted 485 children on the books with an average attendance of 405. The annual procession noted 442 children attending the National School. AG.11.6.27. - 43 - while at the same time Birmingham's population grew from around 46,500 to 103, 000. ^

Though it has not proved possible to complete a yearly set of

Anglican figures, it is still possible to note trends of development from those which are available. After the initial decline and following lack of growth the late 1820 *s show the beginnings of an expansion which seemingly continued throughout the period. This increased pattern to a certain extent is reflective of the formation of new churches and chapels

1825-51 > new parochial areas soon formed Sunday schools after their own foundation. This pattern of steady development from the late 1820 's onwards is confirmed by the figures of average attendance available for (2) 1841 and 1847 which are taken from local reports. '

The local compilations shown in Figure 3 tend to confirm the pattern of Anglican attendance growth suggested by the "official series"; although there are certain notable but explicable differences. Figure 3 shows the l8l8 Brougham report represented by two registration figures. The larger figure represents the estimate for the combined parishes of

Birmingham, Aston and Edgbaston, the lower is for the two Birmingham parishes only; this latter figure referring to the same schools whose attendance rate is shown in the annual Anglican Sunday School Reports, which provided the attendance figures shown on the graph for 1784-1824.

The local compilation registration figure for l8l8, below the "lower

Brougham" figure helps confirm the approximate accuracy of Brougham.

(1) See Appendix B. (2) Feild, 'Education in the Diocese of Worcester 1 . Feild noted in the "Sunday School" section of his report that no attempt was made to swell numbers during the inspection} Birmingham Lay Association 1847 Report, pp. 10* (3) Brougham l8l8, pp.997 ff. The annual Sunday school reports were reprinted in Aris's Gazette every October from 1785-! 806, then during October/November 1806-14, in December 1815-21, January in the following year 1822-23? and February in the following year for 1824-5- - 44 -

The years 1812 and 1823 have two attendance rates each, the larger in both cases being the figure for Birmingham and the schools in the parts of

Aston parish which later became part of the Borough of Birmingham, the lower again referring to Birmingham only. It seems therefore that the

Anglican attendance levels shown 0.1784-1824 are lower than they should be, ignoring as they do Edgbaston and the later "Borough" parts of Aston,

areas included in the terms of reference for this thesis. This

discrepancy has not been allowed for in the figures as it is not known

when Sunday schools in these other areas commenced. '

The first major expansion of Anglican Sunday schooling seems to have

started in the late 1820's, and although between 1826 and 1841 only eight

out of sixteen years can be reliably estimated, this is sufficient to

show a marked rise in attendance. The Kerry registration figures are

below the local compilation figures for attendance. This is not a great

anomaly for Kerry's figures, as already mentioned, were criticized from

the time of publication on the grounds of under-estimation. For

Birmingham Kerry's report details 9 Anglican Sunday schools when in fact

there were ]Q; the missing school seems to be that of Christ Church which (?\ in 1832 had 480 children registered and 743 in 1835; the inclusion of

these missing numbers would balance fairly well with the other available

figures. Wood's Statistical Society Report provides an attendance figure

lower than that of the local attendance compilation for 1838. When it

is considered that the local attendance figures are perhaps slightly

exaggerated by processional figures, and also that Wood noted that his

survey figures were lower than normal because of bad weather and a

(1) AG. 14.9.12; 26.5.23. After 1824 Anglican figures in Fig. 3 all refer to Birmingham, Mgbaston and the "Borough" parts of Aston combined.

(2) NSAIU 24th, (1835) Birmingham statistics; NSAR, 21st, (l832), Birmingham statistics. - 45 - depression in trade,* ' -the local figure and Wood's figure tend to confirm each other.

The remaining figures up to 1851 show a continuing rise, though it is possible that the late 1840*s and early 1850*s saw a levelling off of

Sunday school expansion. The figures for 1849 indicate a drop in registration and attendance, but are possibly under-estimated. The source of these figures was a schools survey conducted by the Dissenting

Birmingham Sunday School Union. This survey noted that some schools, especially Anglican ones had refused information, in those cases "probable" (2) numbers were allowed - seemingly under estimations: ' The 1851 Mann figures fit into the trend shown by the earlier compilations and reports.

Unfortunately insufficient evidence survives to form a local compilation for 1851.

The information on Dissenting Sunday Schools in Figure 3 is also only of a sporadic nature. The figures from 1787 - 1801 are compiled from informed estimates based on surviving manuscript minute book evidence; similarly, the figures for 1811 and 1813 are based on given facts and informed estimate. ' ' The figures for 1818-2? and 1831 are compiled from detailed minute books of the Unitarians and Catholics as well as

(1) Wood 1838, p.2. It should be noted that Wood's report details Anglican schools en bloc, there being no differentiation of individual schools. The 1838 local compilation is an addition of figures from Aris's Gazette, NSLF and NSAR. Thus Wood's report does not influence any of the local compilation figure, which thus forms a useful check of Wood's figures. (2) BSSU Quarterly, Vol. 1, p.108. (3) The Old and New Meeting Unitarian Sunday school minute books give enough descriptive detail of attendance to enable an estimated attendance level to be matched to the few early stated figures c.1787-1810; after this time their records are fairly complete. The other groups, Carrs Lane, Cherry Street, and Cannon Street Baptists have had a steady growth estimated, based around the few available figures c.1795-1813. The Catkolic figures are based on minute book entries. Apart from minute books, see also:- for Baptists R.W. Ram, The Social Evolution of /ive Dissenting Communities in Birmingham,1750-1870, (Thesis Ph.D., Univ. of Birmingham, 1973), p.l82, and AG.21.6.12; for Methodists see, AG. 24-11.06, 21.7.13. Allowance has been made for the other enrly Dissenting Sunday school, the Ebenezer, at the same rate as Carrs Lane. - 46 - reports of Baptist and Methodist annual processions. Again, as with the Anglicans, this probably means the average attendance level is exaggerated.

The available written evidence records a rapid rise in Dissenting provision, this is reflected in Figure 3. By 1801 Dissenting attendance was about on a par with that of the Anglicans, and within a few years the Anglicans were noting how Dissenting provision was outstripping their's; the 1806 Annual Report noted how low the numbers in the Anglican schools were

f in Proportion to the . . . Aggregate of children in Schools not connected with the Established Church . . . f (l)

The estimated figures of 1811 and 1813 fit into this pattern of growth which the evidence of the l820's shows to have continued. There is no "official" figure for I8l8 as the Brougham report did not give specific details or figures of Dissenting Sunday schools. The 1833 Kerry figure for registration, which is almost at the 1831 attendance level, does not represent a major decline, but is again a result of Kerry's under- (2) estimation, which was particularly found in the case of Dissenters.

One of the interesting features of the graph is the apparent halting of Dissenting expansion during the later l830's and l840's. Assuming

Kerry's figure to be an underestimation, the three official surveys of

1833, 1838, and 1851 show a levelling off of Dissenting provision. The

Sunday School Union survey figure of 1849> which is suggestive of a late rise, is perhaps a result of over-estimation of its own and other

Dissenting provision while it under estimated Anglican provision. There

(1) AG. 6.10.06. (2) Kerry, for example, notes 146 pupils at the two Catholic schoolr, when the Catholic Sunday school minutes reveal 359 pupils. The Catholic minutes are recorded on microfilm and housed at the Birmingham Central Reference Library. - 47 - is certainly no other evidence of a marked increase in Dissenting Sunday schooling at this period. The time span between the relatively accurate

Wood and Mann reports was seemingly one when Dissenting Sunday schooling ceased its rapid expansion. This trend is slightly more marked when it is remembered that Wood's figures were if anything on the low side. The reasons for this halting of expansion will be discussed later. Though

Dissenting provision did slow by the 1850 f s, Figure 3 also reveals the greater level of success achieved by Dissent in attracting Sunday scholars in comparison to the Anglicans; an achievement which needs accounting for.

The extent to which Sunday schooling was used by working class children is shown in Table 8. The difficulties in compiling these figures have already been outlined and these have caused certain exagger­ ations in the charts, both Table 8 and Figure 3« The figures for 1821 and 1831 are possibly over-estimations caused by uncertainty of

Dissenting procession numbers. Whereas the reports of Anglican processions gave numerical details of the individual Sunday schools which helped confirm the figures as being closer to average attendance than registration numbers, the Dissenting procession reports merely give block totals, and it seems possible that these are over-exaggerations, being more related to numbers on the books. If this is so, then the l8l8 - 1827 Dissenting line in Figure 3 is probably a moderate over- estimation. A reduction in this set of figures, although reducing the actual numbers does not alter the trend shown of steady and rapid growth.

In these types of chart where individual statistical compilation is fraught with some difficulty of identification, it is the trends over a long period which are important, not so much the individual totals. - 48 -

TABLE 8

WORKING GLASS CHILDREN IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS

IN BIRMINGHAM : 1781-1851^

Year Child Working Working Class $ of Working Class Ratio of Working Popul­ Class Child Pop. at Child Pop. at Sun. Class Child Pop. ation Child Sun. School School at SS. to those not. Pop.

1781 11,625 10,450 - — - 1791 13,625 12,250 1628 13.5 n 7-5 1801 17,833 16,050 2564 16 T 6.5 1811 20,720 18,648 4038 21.5 -i 4.5 1821 25,721 23,149 9044 39 •i 3 1831 35,549 31,995 12713 40 •1 2.5 1841 40,219 36,197 12723 35 •i 2.5 1851 50,713 45,642 14385 32 -i 3

The trend shown in Table 8 is very clear, despite the probable over- estimation of 1821. There was a steady increase in the use of Sunday schooling from its inception in 1784 until 1831, after which time there was a levelling off and perhaps slight decline. Although the numbers attending Sunday schools continued to increase, by 1851 the proportion of children attending had declined. By 1851 although numbers had greatly increased it was still a minority of working class children who were at the Sunday schools. Undoubtedly many of the 68$ of children not in Sunday schools in 185! had probably attended one at some point in their

lives; nevertheless, in 1851 most working class children were not attending a Sunday school.

(l) The figures here are from the local compilations, the sources for which have already been footnoted. nb. The 1841 figure is based on the difference between the Wood and Mann figures as no reliable local compilation was available for this year. The 1851 figure is taken from Mann for the same reason. The population figures are taken from the decennial censuses 1801 - 1851, and from figures in Hanson, Plans. (1778/1785). See Appendix B for explanation of calculation of working class child percentages. - 49 -

The compilation of figures of average attendance in day schooling has proved easier than that of Sunday schools. There are, however, some similar reservations to be made. It is not always certain that figures quoted are of average attendance; and in the Dissenting totals particularly, a sizable amount of informed estimation has been used to complete the figures for some years. ' Bearing these and similar factors in mind, it is still a worthwhile exercise to compile figures based on actual returns and informed estimation, as these reliably show trends in provision and attendance, even if the individual yearly totals cannot be proved precisely.

The compilation of attendance levels at day schools is shown in Figure 4 and reveals several clear and interesting trends. The figures for both Anglicans and Dissenters show -that until the l830's the growth of attendance was small and was a somewhat haphazard affair. The first twenty eight years show hardly any changes, there being only a few minor variations until the founding of the monitorial schools. The overall attendance level fluctuated l8ll-c.l825 with the varying fortunes of the three monitorial schools, (the two Lancasterians and the National), which accounted for almost all the Dissenting and a large proportion of the Anglican attendance. The decline I8l7-l825 was marked in the monitorial schools; in l8l8 the Lancasterian Boys' school, the Gids 1 Lancasterian (2) School and the National School were educating some 1,000 children, v ' by 1825 the number was around 300. ' The Anglican level was also affected 1826-1829 by the closure of the King Edward's English schools, which meant the loss of some 500 places and attenders.

(l) It is important for the reader to examine Appendix A and to assess the extent and adequacy of the estimation for each school.

(2) Brougham 1818, pp.997

(3) BNSAR, 1826; AG.22.5.26. .FIGURE 4 -', ' :: ! i • i ; • ___ ATTENDANCE AT ANGLICAN AND DISSENTING : . I • •:• "I

DAY SCHOOLS IN"BIRMINGHAM : 17U1 - 1851. -;-•-- pn.---• • • • • ; i •' ' ...... : "1000

;,•;.l:...-;|:.....1781"-.83 •'•••;.•!• ;• ! 85 : 87..i•.;::.,.:;!•-.4. 8S 91 93• 95••" 97 99 01 03 04

r r:"" . L.L.: !..'.' • n :i:J^- : U .! .'..

-;.-J_ 4- —..—i —1- r;::t. T .. • . 1 ': -10,000'

r_!_••_ :: i ..-•. X _. -r-:^

47 49 -51 ':::' i '1 l ::,' ^• : i. i. • •• ': •. :• ; :'! : . ( j . i . ...' •• fr ^;.; -i 'i ;.. | .'I.. -Ll;:;: 5f : IS ~ ; i '! : — i r> f _ Officialf\ n c Series i [ :.!• "! . .j ;••:•!;,•:! , ——::•( Mjr Total Attendance: o j|j Anglican Attendance: —— — — — a Dissenting Attendance: ._._._.__.. , ^ .,. AtteTid.aia.ofe level, a£ schools not i > ] . ^ accounted for in this thesis's figures.

. : .... I .,., ., . .. Vertical axis shows numbers oi^ pupils jiLj.!:.'..! • : : ' ' .!:,... . i: .. ...:...,:: 1 I.. .. .-i •• . - 50 -

Figure 4 clearly shows the late 1820«s as the starting point of growth for both Anglicans and Dissenters. The first spurt of growth in the late

1820*s was caused by the start of the Infant School movement and the founding of new National schools. The Anglican expansion as a sustained movement seems to start around 1833 and carry on right through to the

1840*3. The years 1846-51 as shown by the local compilation need a little

explanation as it seems there is a variation in the growth pattern with a

sudden increase in 1846, followed by a decline in 1849-51. The increase

of 1846 which was maintained in 1847 and 1848 is mainly resultant from

the continuing foundation of new schools with the expansion of others

founded earlier in the 1840*s helping swell the numbers. The part really needing explanation is the 1849-51 decline. This is a result of the

lack of definite figures around 1850 for five Anglican schools, consequently

as only a small allowance has been made to prove their existence in the

figures this has caused the drop in the attendance rate seen in Figure 4«

This is also the reason why the figures of attendance calculated from the Mann report are above those of the local compilation. '

As the Appendix on day schooling figures shows it is the 1830 f s and

1840's where most "under-estimation" has had to be made, especially with the Dissenting figures. There are still valid points to be made from these figures however. The 1833 Kerry returns already mentioned as under­ estimating Sunday schooling are seen doing the same for Dissent. When it is remembered that much of Kerry's totals are based on registration figures then the extent of his Dissenting under-estimation is clear. The Wood figures match the local compilation very closely, partly because some of the Wood figures have been used in the local compilation, but it should be stressed that evidence from 1837 and 1839 from other sources often confirms that of Wood.

(l) See Appendix A. - 51 -

The graphs in Figure 4 reveal two important trends ¥hich need explanation. Firstly, the slow rate of growth up to 1830 which relative to population growth is tantamount almost to a period of non-growth.

Secondly, although Dissenting day schooling has been more under-recorded than Anglican in the 1840's, Figure 4 does show the considerable Anglican success in comparison to that of Dissent in gaining the attendance of working class children at day schools.

The estimated numbers of working class children attending provided day schools are shown in Table 9. As with Sunday schools, the majority of working class children in 1851 were not attending a provided day school. The figures show the rapid increase in the last twenty years when the proportion in school doubled, whereas it had previously taken fifty years to double. The figures in Table 9 show the population to have been expanding rapidly. This factor of a rapidly expanding population must be borne in mind when considering these trends.

TABLE 9 ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE OF WORKING GLASS CHILDREN AT PROVIDED DAY SCHOOLS IN BIRMINGHAM ; 1781-1831 (l)

Year Child Working Class Working Class % of Working Ratio of w/c Population Child Pop. Children at class child­ children at School ren at school school to those not 1781 11,525 10,450 492 4.5 •1 21 1791 13,625 12,250 496 4 •n 24-5 1801 17,833 16,050 853 5-5 1 19 1811 20,720 18,648 1223 6.5 1 15 1821 25,721 23,149 1872 8 1 12.5 1831 35,549 31,995 2641 8.5 1 12 1841 40,219 36,197 4813 13.5 1 7.5 1851 50,713 45,642 8224 18 1 5-5

(l) Figures based on local co^i^L^^fcqn and census figures. See

Appendix B. fc/- % r*.V'- Mis*& IV

The charts and statistics presented in the earlier parts of this chapter have outlined certain trends in the extent and use of day and

Sunday schools in Birmingham. To enable the development of the Birmingham situation to be better understood and to enable a more meaningful examination of it to be made in succeeding chapters, it is of great importance that comparisons be made with other areas. By comparing and contrasting Birmingham's experience with others, it may also be possible to offer a generalized typology of the trends in schooling development during the period in question.

Perhaps the first comparison should be with England as a whole.

Tables 10 and 11 show the proportion of "scholars" in relation to the population for each major survey of schooling. The proportions are different to those in Tables 8 and 9> the latter matching "scholars"to child working class/population. The extent of day schooling (private and public) in Birmingham shows a considerable discrepancy from the national figures, one which is only being closed in the late l830's and 1840 f s.

The figures show that although Birmingham's numerical total of day schooling was improving steadily in the 1840's (see Fig. 4) in relation to population growth the improvement was slow. - 53 -

TABLE 10

PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION IN DAY SCHOOLS

REVEALED BY MAJOR REPORTS ^

Year of Birmingham Birmingham England Report Population Proportion : One in Proportion : One in

1818 100,431 39.35 17.25 1833 150,385 23.25 11.27 1838 170,721 11.79 (10.46)* 1851 232,841 11.02 8.36

* No national figures given by 1838 Report. This figure calculated at 5/18 of difference between 1833 and 1851 figures added to 1833 level.

The figures relating to the Sunday schools shown in Figure 11 also reveal that, with the exception of 1838, Birmingham had a level of scholars in schools below that of the national average. In fact, after 1838 the proportion of the population in Birmingham's Sunday schools decreased. The figures of the 1838 report as seen in Tables 10 and 11 suggest that a considerable improvement in the proportion of the population in school occurred after 1833. It should be remembered that Kerry's figures, as well as those of Brougham under-estimated the amount of schooling; consequently, although there is no doubt that the proportion being schooled was increasing, the rate of progress 1833-38 was not as great as the figures suggest.

(l) Mann, 1851, pp. xvii - xx. This report provided comparisons and figures of the previous surveys, except for 1838. The Birmingham proportions are calculated from the figures given for Birmingham in Brougham, Kerry and Wood. - 54 -

TABLE 11

PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS

REVEALED BY MAJOR REPORTS

Year of Birmingham Birmingham England Report Population Proportion : One in Proportion : One in 1818 100,431 33.20 24.20 1833 150,385 11.68 9.28 1838 170,721 8.17 (8.77)* 1851 232,841 10,42 7-45 * See Table 10.

Despite these reservations as to under recording, the figures of comparison between Birmingham and England still hold true; Birmingham, the third largest town in England was well behind the national average in terms of the provision and use of schooling. It might be argued that

Birmingham's inability to match the national average in provision was due to its size and character as a large urban centre. Table 12, which shows the levels of provision in 1851 of the towns of over 100,000 population, suggests that perhaps this might be a significant factor. Most of the figures for these towns show provision at a lower rate than the national average, only Leeds having a better proportion in both day and Sunday schools.

Of the three largest towns, both Liverpool and Birmingham have worse than average rates in both day and Sunday schooling.

(l) Ibid. - 55 -

TABLE 12

PROPORTION OF POPULATION AT SCHOOL

MAJOR ENGLISH TOMS IN 1831^ l '

Place and Population Day School Sunday School Proportion : One in Proportion : One in

Liverpool : 375*955 8-56 17.08 Manchester: 303,382 11.60 7-15 Birmingham: 232,841 11.02 10.42 Leeds : 172,270 7-83 5-99 Bristol : 137,328 7.67 9-90 Sheffield : 135,310 8.66 9.06 London City : 127,869 8.90 18.77 Bradford : 103,778 10.83 6.45

English National Average 8.36 7.45

Size and urban centre character do not seem to be the sole determining factors in the levels of schooling provision and use; for as Table 13 shows, in 1838 other major towns were more successful than Birmingham in schooling provision and use. Manchester and Bury were each providing almost twice the amount of Sunday schooling that Birmingham managed, whereas in comparison to Liverpool and Westminster city parishes Birmingham was doing much better. It seems that other factors apart from size and urban character must apply.

(l) .Mann, 1851. Table T. pp. cxciv-ccv. - 56 -

; TABLE " 13' PERCENTAGES OF TOM POPULATIONS AT SCHOOL;

FROM STATISTICAL SURVEYS^ 1 '

Types of Manchester _. n _ „ . 4 Parishes _. . . Schooling and Salford LlverP°o1 Bury York £estminster Birmingham

Day & Evening 5-20 7-75 7-51 7.96 7.46 6.05 Only Day & Evening 5.26 5.06 5.61 9.00 2.06 2.30 & Sunday Sunday only 11.58 1.62 15.51 3.01 1.55 7.01

In all schools 22.04 14.43 28.63 19-97 11.07 15.36

Evidence found in Mann's report, as in the earlier reports of

Kerry and Brougham, suggests that geographical location was also a

factor in determining schooling development. Brougham's report for

I8l8 revealed the adjacent counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire

to be amongst the counties with the lowest provision of "new" schools

(i.e. National or British), whereas the counties south of London were (2) among the better provided. v ' This importance of location in

affecting schooling levels is supported by the figures in the Mann

report quoted in Table 14. This shows that most of the boroughs within the Birmingham "sphere of influence" were almost all poorer

provided for than the national average in both day and Sunday schooling,

The suggestions of these figures being that the Birmingham, Black

Country, North Warwickshire area as a whole was backward in its provision and use of schooling.

(1) Slaney, 1837-38, p.115. Table adapted from that presented by J.R. Wood.

(2) Brougham, p.*1171- - 57 -

TABLE 14

PROPORTION OF POPULATIONS OF ¥EST MIDLAND (1) BOROUGHS IN SCHOOL IN 1851

Town and Population Day School Sunday School Proportion : One in Proportion : One in

Birmingham 232,841 11.02 10.42 Wolverhampton : 49,985 11.96 9.16 Coventry : 36,208 12.90 9.45 Walsall : 25,680 8.63 8.35 Kidderminster : 18,462 7.64 8.42 Stafford : 11,829 8.45 7-12 Lichfield : 7,012 9-91 10.72

English National Average 8.36 7«45

Although it would seem that Birmingham and its surrounding area was providing less than the national average in terms of the proportion of the population receiving schooling, the patterns of development it followed (2) seem to have been very much part of a national pattern. ' In Sunday schooling the publication of Raikes 1 work in 1783 was followed by the development of Sunday schools on similar plans in most of the major towns as well as smaller ones. By the end of 1784 Derby, Leeds, Liverpool,

Manchester and Nottingham had all set up Sunday schools as had Birmingham.

(1) Mann, 1851, pp.cvii-ccv.

(2) For local studies referred to and consulted in the following paragraphs, see the following:- A.P. Wadsworth, 'The First Manchester Sunday Schools', Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol.33, (1950-51), pp.299-326; James Murphy, 'The Rise of Public Elementary Education in Liverpool: Part 1', Trans. Hist. Soc. of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol.116 (1964); Hawkes, Education in Nelson; Marion Johnson, Derbyshire Village Schools; R.R. Sellman, Devon Village Schools; David Wardle, Education in Nottingham; John Lawson, 'Elementary Education in Hull in the l850's, Studies in Education, Vol. II, No. 1., (Hull, 1953); Diana McClatchley, Oxfordshire Clergy 1777-1869, (Oxford, I960). See also Malcolm Seaborne, The English School , its architecture and organization, 1370-1870* (1971). - 58 -

Although originally non-denominational, most of these Sunday school ventures during the 1790 f s split into Anglican and Dissenting groups and provided their own denominational instruction. Again, Birmingham was no exception, only in that its split came much earlier in 1786. '

The development pattern of Sunday schooling up to 1851 that Birmingham experienced - Dissenting advance to 1830's, slow Anglican expansion -

seems to have been fairly typical. Table l5 shows the Anglican lag in provision to have been fairly widespread throughout the country in the mid 1830's.

TABLE 15

CHILDREN IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN THE MID l830 f s

Place Anglicans Dissenters Catholics

Manchester 10,284 19,032 3,812 Liverpool 6,318 8,350 700

Birmingham 4,500 11,830 338 Leeds 4,130 11,886 — Salford 2,741 6,250 —

There also seems to be a uniform pattern in the growth of provided day schooling. The years up to 1808 had seen the sporadic formation of new day schools and "Schools of Industry" throughout the country, but the first main impetus came with the development of the monitorial schools. The pattern in Birmingham of a Lancasterian school being founded to be followed within a couple of years by an Anglican National school is seen in many other places. Common too was the lead taken by particular

(1) AG. 2.10.86. (2) Slaney, 1837-38, p.ix. The table as reproduced here only includes the five largest towns, a few others of smaller population were given, a minority of which had a balance in favour of the Anglicans. (3) Wardle, Nottingham, pp.45-47; Murphy, Liverpool, p.l88ff. - 59 -

Dissenting groups in the foundation of the Lancasterian school. The role played by Unitarians and Quakers in Birmingham was matched by their efforts in Manchester, Liverpool and Derby; ' This, however, was not the beginning of a major expansion, certainly not in the towns, and the

Birmingham situation of no new National School being founded for thirteen years after the first matched elsewhere; Nottingham waited fifteen years before the next Anglican schools (infants) were started, and twenty five (2) years before a second National school.

The development of Anglican day schooling vras seen in Birmingham to start in the late l820's and then rapidly grow in the late l830's and l£40 l s, This phenomenon is recorded in both urban and rural areas. Half of the schools in Oxfordshire were either built or received considerable enlargement during the 1840*s and early 1850*s. ' Similarly an examin­ ation of school foundation in Devon has revealed the 1840's as a major period of expansion. ' In urban areas this expansion was linked to the growing creation of new ecclesiastical divisions and the development of (5) schools associated with them. Similarly the pattern of Dissenting day schooling in Birmingham is typical of other areas. The slow move into day schooling and the frequent development of Sunday schools into day schools is noted in many places. In Hull, for example, British and Foreign schools were not built until the l830's, and the first Wesleyan school was built in 1837 as an offshoot of the Sunday school. '

(1) Brian Simon, Studies in the History of Education 1780-1870, (i960), PP.135-36. (2) Wardle, Nottingham, pp.47-8. (3) McClatchley, Oxfordshire Clergy, p.155- (4) Sellman, Devon Village Schools, p.25 and pp.35-7• (5) Lawson, Hull, p.13; Wardle, Nottingham, pp.48-50. (6) Lawson, Hull, pp.16-17. - 60 -

In considering the development of schooling it has been suggested that the physical size of towns and their geographic location can be factors of influence. The notable similarity of developmental pattern noted here between many local areas suggests that national influences were just as important as local ones in determining the development of schooling in any one locality. The various forms of national and local influence will be examined in succeeding chapters.

In the changes which took place in provided education in Birmingham as revealed by the statistics, there was little innovation. The years

1781-1828 saw little expansion of educational facilities, with the exception of Dissenting Sunday schools. Furthermore the provided day school education was no match for the private sector until well towards the close of the period in question, as Table 16 shows. It has already been noted that little investigation of private schooling is possible because of the almost complete absence of records from such schools, particularly those for the working class. A few points on private

schooling can be made with reference to Table 16. Allowing for gross under-estimation of private schooling by Kerry, the most notable figures

of comparison are the levelling out of the private-provided imbalance by

1851. The suggestion here is possibly that by the l850's a trend towards the substitution of private schooling for provided schooling was beginning to take place; certainly the private sector does not seem to be increasing after 1838 - a trend reflected in the national figures. ' However, it should be borne in mind that in 1838 using Wood's figures, probably the most reliable available, that 72$ of day schooling was private, and that

(l) Kerry and Mann note 732,449 private scholars in 1833 and a slight fall to 731,396 private scholars in 1851. See Kerry 1833, pp. 1330 ff and Mann 1851, p.xliv. - 61 - most of that was schooling for the -working class. Mann's figures suggest that even in 1851 if private schooling was not the dominant form of working

class education, it was still of considerable importance.

TABLE 16

SCHOLARS IN PROVIDED AND PRIVATE DAY SCHOOLS

Year Private Scholars Provided Scholars •? *? 1818 • • 1833 3,774 3,569 1838 10,414 4,066 1851 9,151 13,032

The patterns and trends of schooling shown in this chapter challenge

the view that provided education developed gradually from the charity schools,

through the Sunday schools and monitorial schools towards state provision.

The statistics in this chapter suggest several sporadic "bursts of activity

and a major shift in the nature of provision around 1830. The steady

expansion view does not appear valid in the light of the Birmingham evidence.

Perhaps concentration in the past has been placed on the wrong aspect in

describing educational growth, perhaps what is needed - for the years up

to 1828 - is an explanation for non-growth.

This statistical chapter has raised several questions regarding trends

which need answering. Why where there high points of activity? Why was

Dissent more successful than the Anglicans with Sunday schooling? Why and

how did the Anglicans achieve such superiority over the Dissenters in day

schooling? These are all questions relative to the providers, but there

are similar questions to be asked about the working class clientele. It

was their use or non-use which brought "success" to the various educational

(l) Kerry, 1833, pp.990-992; Wood 1838, p.3; Mann 1851, p.cxciv-cxcv. - 62 - ventures in the town. What affected their choice - what constraints or inducements were they subjectto? It is questions of this nature that the succeeding chapters will aim to answer. - 63 -

CHAPTER 1

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF BIRMINGHAM'S PROVIDED SCHOOLS 1781-1851

'(school managers) are voluntarily irporirg upon themselves a great deal of trouble and expense for a public object. 1 (1)

The growth of schooling detailed in the previous chapter was largely based on the philanthropy of certain "investor*" in education, who organized and controlled their investments through committees or boards of governors. The composition of these providing groups can be a revealing factor in a consideration of the changing pattern of educational provision. An examination of the occupations, social standing, local political involvement, and membership of non-educational pressure groups of these providers may illustrate something of their views and prejudices, throwing light on their approaches to contemporary social questions. This may well reveal motives behind their educational involvement that might otherwise have remained concealed.

The compilation of a list of educational providers is not a straight­ forward task. A problem arises in determining what level of involvement in a school shall be deemed to make a provider. Levels of involvement varied from single small donations, to annual subscriptions, through to participation as a committee member of a school. For some schools it would be possible from annual reports to compile a list of subscribers, which if done for all schools would provide a listing of those in Birmingham involved in school provision. Such a method of considering

(l) Pater Gordon, The Victorian School i'anaeer. ( 1974) p.2, quoting. Rev. subscribers as providers is not feasible, principally because the compilation would prove unmanageable because of the sheer weight of numbers involved. Further, though enough lists are available to create the numbers problem, not enough have survived to provide an accurate reflection of subscribers to all the schools in the town. Finally, such a compilation would not necessarily provide a list of people interested in education, as the presence of a name on a subscription list did not automatically imply any interest or concern in the organization subscribed to. Subscriptions were often purely a matter of social form - it being important to be named on a charitable subscription list. As a guide to involvement in educational provision, the subscription list is ineffective.

A more reliable method of determining and defining providers is to consider those who were actively involved in school management through participation on committees or boards of governors. These groups were the immediate controlling and very often motive force behind the schools. A difficulty in this approach of defining active providers is in knowing exactly how "active" particular committee members were. In some cases they were ex-officio and proved somewhat inactive: this applied to the Rectors of St. Martin's and St. Philip's who appeared irregularly at the (2) Blue Coat School Committee meetings c. 1804-1821. v ' Again, other members might only be invited for the prestige of their names, without their active participation.

The records of the Blue Coat and King Edward schools provide evidence of inactivity amongst some committee members. In l835» "the Rev. A.J.Clarke was disqualified as a King Edward's Governor for infrequent attendance,

(1) A Short Account of the Blue Coat Charity School, (Birmingham 1832). The subscription list in this annual report alone contains over 750 names. (2) Blue Coat School Committee Minute Books, (Manuscript) Vols.5-8, see attendance lists at meetings. These records housed at the Blue Coat School, Metchley Lane, Harborne, Birmingham. Hereafter Bl.Ct.Mins. - 65 - having been absent from meeting for two years. ' The Blue Coat (2) committee minutes also reveal several infrequent committee attenders.

The Blue Coat rules made provision for removing inactive members. Each year eight committee members retired on the basis of

'1st. Those who shall not wish to remain on the Committee for the ensuing year. 2nd. Those who shall have attended meetings the least number of times during the past year. 1 (3)

Though there are certain difficulties in using committee lists as evidence of providing activity, they do illustrate the type of person involved on school committees, whether they subsequently proved active or not. As such, committee membership is probably the best guide in identifying school providers.

Having compiled a list of educational providers, it is of value to determine their occupations. Town directories often provide this information but must be used with care. Difficulties can arise in identification when directories reveal a father and son with the same Christian name. This can be further complicated if both have served on the same committee. The Cope family of High Street had three members named John, all were druggists, and as Table 17 shows, were all King Edward's Governors. The closeness of their succession in office, as well as suggesting the importance of "family" in filling committees, illustrates the possibilities of confusion^ a problem compounded when the minutes refer just to "Mr. Cope", for there were other Cope's who were Governors. A similar problem of identification occurs where there is a

(1) King Edward's School Birmingham Governors* Attendance Register, 1797-1878, (Manuscript). In KES Archives. Housed at the Foundation Office, King Edward's School, Edgbaston, Birmingham. (2) Bl.Ct.Mins, Vols.5-8. (3) Short Account Blue Coat School, (1832), p.26. - 66 -

TABLE 17

K.E. Governorships of the Cope Family.

John Cope : 1770 - 1780 John Cope : 1789 - 1822 Charles Cope : 1823 - 1830 John Cope : 1825 - 1853 Charles Cope : 1854 - 1874

duplication of a common name, as with Lloyd and Smith. The first committee of the Sunday Schools included a William Smith, at a time when (2) a contemporary directory recorded six William Smiths in Birmingham; and two King Edward's governors in the early 1820s were called William Smith, between whom distinctions were not always made.

The determining of committee members' occupations is also hampered by a lack of definition of occupation in town directories, one major identifying source. These provide sparse occupational information; sometimes granting men the honorary title of "Gent", with no reference to their occupations, or classifying them as manufacturers with no details of the size of economic unit involved - such a description covering garrett artizan masters and large scale employers. In both these cases further research has tried to ascertain more precise details.

It is also valuable to know the religious denominations of committee members, as this can reveal unusual co-operative attempts or confirm religious partialities. This has proven in many cases to be very difficult,

Circumstantial evidence of religious affiliation is often very strong, and

(l ) Details of governorships extracted from various KES Archives; especially, Governors' Attendance Register, 1797-1878, (Manuscript) (2) AG.12.7.84 : Pye, Directory of Birmingham, 1785. (3) GOR. Volume l8l8-1832. where definite proof is lacking has been accepted as such. The King

Edward's and Blue Coat Schools were both firm Anglican schools, and most of their committee members were proven Anglicans, but not all.

As these schools were Anglican establishments, it has been assumed that committee members were also Anglicans. ' In 1830, the King Edward's Governors were reputedly

'all Churchmen and Tories, every other religious denomination, and every other class of politicians were rigidly excluded by the existing .... Governors 1 . (2)

Membership of the Anglican church is difficult to prove, particularly in the late eighteenth century when Dissenters were often baptized, married or buried in Anglican churches. Even the position of churchwarden does not prove Anglican affiliation: in the 1830s, during the great debate and furore over Birmingham church rates, non-Anglicans were elected as churchwardens. Anglican membership is revealed by participation in such bodies as the SPCK, the Church of England Lay Association and Church of England Missionary Society. Proof of Dissenting membership is more easily obtained through Chapel minutes and records.

The committee lists on which this chapter is based vary in their completeness between schools and over the years. Up to 1828, when the King Edwards, Blue Coat, Pinfold St. National, Protestant Dissenting Charity and the Lancas-ferian schools were providing virtually all the non-private day schooling, a fairly full set of committee lists and

(1) Only William Russell (Governor 1769-C.1793), of all KES Governors 1781-1851, was a Dissenter. In 1830 during the planning of the "Birmingham Free Grammar School Bill" an attempt was made to legislate that only Anglicans could be Governors. See also, Short Account Blue Coat School (1832), Rule XXII, which noted that the only children admitted were those 'whose parents are of the Established Church 1 . (2) George Griffiths, Goin^ to Markets and Grammar Schools, 2 vols (1870) Vol.1, p.4. Reprinted in: V.E. Neuburg (Gen.Ed.), Social History of Education, 2nd series, no.3« (l97l)« - 68 - and records has survived. The King Edward's Governors' records are complete for the whole of the period, as are the Blue Coat committee minutes, though the latter do not clearly list committee members 1784- (1) 1804. The Protestant Charity school has full committee lists for 1781-1796 and ten 1825-1851. Records of the National Schools committee exist in the surviving annual reports of 1810, 1812 and 1816-1826. The only day school with inadequate lists prior to 1830 is the Lancasterian

School, for which few original records have survived "between 1809 and (2) 1851. Of Sunday schools, both Dissenting and Anglican, there is less committee information for this period than for day schools. The founders of the Sunday school movement are known, as are the Birmingham Anglican Sunday school committees for 1805-1810. Few other details of Anglican Sunday school providers are found until the development of Sunday Schools connected to the National Schools. The Unitarian New Meeting Sunday school committee has records for 1787-1851, but that of the Old Meeting only from 1787-!806, and I8l6-l8; however, as Chapters 4 to 7 show, information on this school is found in their Teacher's Society minutes. Of the other denominations, Carrs Lane Independents have records from 1812-1845, and the Catholics from 1809-1839.

The years 1828-1851 saw increasing numbers of Anglican and Dissenting day and Sunday schools, with a consequent growth in the number of school committees. Many Dissenting schools were run by congregation rather than special school committees, though surviving records of these and Anglican

National Schools are somewhat sparse. In National and Sunday schools the clergy were frequently the motivating force, and with churchwardens' often formed the management committee. No clergy have been included in the

(1) There is no annual listing of each year's committee as in the nineteenth century records, just the names attending each Blue Coat committee meeting. (2) The records of the Protestant Dissenting Charity School and the Birming­ ham National School are housed at Birmingham Reference Library. The majority of information on the Lancasterian school has been extracted from the annual reuorts reprinted in Aris's Gazette. - 69- figures without definite proof of their personal involvement in a parish school, even if their parish had a National School, It is thus possible that the clergy proportion of providers is larger than the figures suggest.

The figures in this chapter have been compiled from a card file of providers which details each provider's occupation, religion, committee obligations, family connections, etcetera. The information comes from a variety of sources including church and chapel reports, minute books, town directories, newspapers, and biographies. ' In certain cases providers have changed occupation, where this is so they have been classified according to their occupation at the time of appointment to a committee.

In order to allow for the possibility of change in the relative importance of providing groups, the years 1781-1851 have been divided into three periods. The years of seeming educational stagnation have been divided into two periods of twenty four years - (1781-1804: 1805-1828) - with the remaining twenty three years co-inciding with the expansion of schooling. These periods are arbitrary but are useful in highlighting changes in the origins of providers.

II

This section considers in detail the occupations of men who were active in providing day and Sunday schooling through their work as committee members, governors, trustees or promoters of schools. (2)' A classification

(1) For full details see Bibliography. (2) The committees examined in this thesis were exclusively male. Women, however, did play a role in schooling. Many schools had "ladies'1 committees" which either supervised girls' Sunday schools or watched over the standards of sewing etc. in day schools. They have not been considered as providers as their role was essentially subordinate to that of the main male committee, with which the power of decision lay. Women performed a role as sub committee under the men's direction. Omitting the women is unlikely to affect conclusions of the social origin of providers, as the majority were wives or daughters of the men on the main committee. - 70 - of occupations has been made so that it is possible to determine the social origins and status of those active in school provision.

In considering those who control the organisation of Anglican educ­ ation, it will be argued that they come almost exclusively from the

•respectable* sections of society; the well to do bourgeoisie of Birmingham. The presence of petit bourgeois or working class men was not to be found on Anglican committees, though they were found in the realms of teacher and superintendant.

A contrast to this was provided by the method of school organization among many Dissenting schools. Although the same pattern of a bourgeois committee controlling the school is often found, this committee was frequently only a financial resources body with control of the running and nature of the school being left to the teachers committee, a body almost always from the working class. This difference between bourgeois committee membership and working class teacher control is examined in succeeding chapters. At this stage it can be noted as a marked contrast to the Anglican position where teacher committees had little effective power.

In the compilation of the table of providers' occupations, (shown below), the clergy have been considered first. They have been considered in isolation as one group, whereas the other groups represent a multiplicity of related occupations. The clergy have been treated separately because of the close relationship between organized religion and educational endeavour during the period in question. - 71 -

TABLE 18

OCCUPATIONAL GROUPINGS USED IN ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL PROVIDERS

Group Constituents

Clergy All religious denominations' ministers, assistant ministers Legal/Medical Professions Solicitors, attornies, barristers, physicans, surgeons, apothecaries. Nobility/Gentry Titled and non-titled major landowners. Other Professions Military officers, architects, surveyors, agents, etc.

Big Bourgeoisie Merchants, manufacturers, bankers, large retailers, etc.

Petit Bourgeoisie/Others Small masters, shopkeepers, artizans and labourers etc. Unknown -

The social status of the Anglican clergy in the period in question was "respectable", although there were many differences within the clergy which arose from income, type of parish or family background. In the eighteenth century it has been suggested that

'The vast majority of parish priests and curates were / * not quite gentlemen. They were betwixt and between ...'^

In 1782 Archdeacon Paley expressed a view that each class of people should (2) be served by a clergy from that class. v ' The nineteenth century saw the status of the clergy steadily improving. Curates began accepting conditions of service to gain a parish and the

(1) J.H. Plumb, England in the Eighteenth Century, (1960), p.44. (2) Archdeacon Paley, A Sermon Preached in the Castle Chapel of Dublin, in Works, ed. in 5 vols. by E. Lynam (1828) Vol.v, p.26l.Quoted in G. Kitson Clark, Churchmen and the Condition of England 1832-1885, (1973),P.30. - 72 -

•position of social distinction which was granted to any clergyman 1 , (l)

This change was partly attributable to the increasing wealth of some clergy from enclosures and tithe commutations, and partly because it was becoming felt that clergy should be independent of their parishoners, leading from above rather than from a position of equality. The increasing respectability of the clergy was also reflected in the growing numbers of clerical magistrates.

The status of the clergy in a locality such as Birmingham did not necessarily stem from their financial position. It has been suggested that £200 a year was a reasonable income for an Anglican clergyman, and that curates or dissenting ministers could be expected to live off £80 (2) a year or less. ' The Clergy Residence Act of 1813 stipulated that £80 per annum was to be the minimum income of a curate, though this provision was not strictly maintained. Parish livings in Birmingham varied considerably, but were worth on average around £339 per year by 1849. This figure is inflated by the high income of St. Martin's, the original parish church, and without this the average living was about £288 per year. It was from this that any assistant clergy were paid, leaving the actual income of the incumbent smaller still. There were other sources of income open to the clergy either in the form of ecclesiastical preferments, or as schoolmasters. The latter usually did not pay excessively and were often not open to beneficed clergy, and the former usually went to those already in favoured positions or with connections.

(1) Hastings Robinson, Church Reform on Christian Principles, (l833),p.20. Quoted in D. Bowen«~The Idea of the Victorian Church, (Montreal 1968)p.lO (2) G. Kitson Clark, The Making of Victorian England, (1968),p.153. (3) White, Directory 1849» p.3-8. These figures are based on 15 livings quoted out of the total of 21 parishes or districts, nb. Five of these were over £500, including St. Martins at £1048. - 73 -

Despite this lack of financial resources the status of the clergy was respectable - assured by education, background and association with

"authority". A respectable aura was brought to the Birmingham clergy through aristocratic or gentry relationships: Rev. Yorke, the son of the third Earl Hardwicke; Rev. Marsh, son of Sir Charles Marsh of Reading;

Rev. Madan, son of Bishop Madan of Peterborough; and Rev. Bird, cousin of John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester, and also related to Willian and Samuel Wilberforce/ 1 '

The status of Dissenting clergy during this period might also be termed respectable. Their respectability was not founded on any- financial status, as they were infrequently paid at a rate which matched their Anglican counterparts. The directories reveal several leading Dissenting clergy having additional employment, usually as schoolmasters, (2) for extra income. v ' In some of the Dissenting denominations of less social status the clergy were often of a peripetetic, part-time nature - but none of these have come to light as school providers. In general, the respectable status of the dissenting clergy came, apart from the nature of their calling, from their education. The denominations of Old Dissent, especially the Unitarians, were famous for their schools and academies, where intending ministers and professional men could train, Oxford and Cambridge being barred to them. Birmingham Dissent in the persons of Rev. Dr. Joseph Priestley, Rev. J.A. James, Rev. R.¥. Dale and George Dawson, received some of the most noted non-conformist clergy of the time. ' Their status plus the status of several Dissenting

(1) Rev. & Hon. G.M. Yorke, Rector St. Philips 1 1844-1874; Rev. W. Marsh, Rector St. Thomas, 1829-1841; Rev. S. Madan, Rector St. Philip's 1787-1809; Rev. E. Bird, Rector St. Thomas, 1842-1847. (2) See also, J.R. Wreford, Sketch of the History of Presbyterian Nonconformity in Birmingham, (Birmingham, 1832) (3) Rev. Dr. J. Priestley, Pastor Unitarian New Meeting 1780-1791; Rev. J.A. James, Minister of Carrs Lane Congregational Church 1805-1859; Rev. R.W. Dale, Minister of Carrs Lane Congregational Church 1859-1895; George Dawson, Church of the Saviour 1847-1876. congregations in the town which were supported by many of the leading bourgeois families, helped ensure the respectable position of Birmingham's

Dissenting clergy.

The second occupational grouping is that of the secular, "learned" professions of medicine and law. Again, it will be argued that these professions consisted of respectable, bourgeois members of society.

The medical profession in the late eighteenth century was not a fully trained and educated body of practitioners. Special academic qualifications were not needed for the practice of medicine, anyone could commence practice as a surgeon or apothecary. The same was not true of physicians.

They were members of the Royal College of Physicians, drawn almost exclusively from Oxford, Cambridge and the Scottish Universities, and it was through the latter that Dissenters were able to become physicians.

This distinction of education gave physicians a higher social status than surgeons or apothecaries:-

*A physician always had a University degree, had often been abroad to study, and was usually a man of consid­ erable general education and culture', (l)

Several Birmingham Physicians were notable men, locally and nationally;

Dr. Withering, member of the nationally renowned Lunar Society; Dr. James

Male, since known as "the Father of Medical Jurisprudence"; and Dr. John

Johnstone, a founder of the Provincial Association of Physicians and (2) Surgeons, the forerunner of the British Medical Association. v ' Such men were leading members of Birmingham's bourgeois elite.

(1) K.D. Wilkinson, (Ed.), The History of the Birmingham Medical School l825~1925 9 A special number of the Birmingham Medical Review, (Birmingham, 1925), p.5.

(2) Ibid., p.16. - 75 -

Surgeons and apothecaries were not specially educated before 1800, although some obtained a medical education in London or Edinburgh. Most of them gained training and experience through actual practice. The late eighteenth century saw a raising of surgical standards as surgeons became less connected with barbers. The founding of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1800 and its institution of examinations helped improve the competency and consequently the status of surgeons. Apothecaries, who 'tended to rank as small traders 1 ,^ ' pressed for their Society to be the controlling power over all apothecaries, a position achieved with the passing of the 1815 Apothecaries Act. This Act and the new rules of their society improved the training, ability and professional standing of apothecaries, who after 1815 had to serve a five year apprenticeship before examination.

Surgeons, although often lacking the socially acceptable educational background of physicians, often gained acceptance in the higher levels of urban society by virtue of the positions they obtained as surgeons. Those who gained hospital appointments and worked with physicians were accorded a higher social standing. Appointments of surgeons to a hospital were made by the Hospital Board of Management, which generally meant only those of the correct social background would succeed. These appointments often took the form of an election by the Governors of the Management Board. The value placed on these appointments was reflected in the canvassing activity of aspirants, as well as by vitriolic outbursts (2) and accusations following election decisions. There is little doubt

(1) Sir L. Woodward, The Age of Reform, (Oxford 1962), p.l8. (2) A notable case of this type occurred at the election for surgeon to the Birmingham General Hospital in l844» The unsuccessful candid­ ate published an attack on the hospital staff, accused the Rev. J. P. Lee (KES Headmaster, later Bishop of Manchester) of drunkenness and mis-appropriation of school funds, and he brought a libel action against the Bishop of Worcester. For further detail see, Wilkinson, History of Birmingham Medical School, p.52-54. - 76- that prestigious hospital elections were open to bribery and corruption as candidates sought the votes of governors. Apart from the financial consideration a good social background was a great asset, if not a pre­ requisite for candidates who wanted to gain a post which guaranteed a

lucrative professional career and a good social standing. The elections

for posts at the Birmingham General Hospital reflect this position, and without doubt

•no poor man could afford the expense of becoming a candidate. ' (l)

There were surgeons who practised privately outside hospitals who were

of a much lower social status. It would seem from the results of

research into committee members that none of this category of surgeon

was found in the ranks of school providers.

The legal profession during this period also had status differentials

similar to those in medicine. Heading the profession were barristers,

over and above the solicitors and attornies. The clear status division

was well illustrated by the side door plate of a barrister's chambers

in Lincoln's Inn which read 'Tradesmen and Attorneys '. ' The lower

status lawyers gradually adopted the name of "solicitor". ' Although

of a lower status than barristers, they were still educated men.

Admission as a solicitor depended on a mixture of apprenticeship as an

articled clerk and an examination, formal admission being granted by the

Master of the Rolls. ' The Birmingham solicitor, Joseph Parkes,

experienced a typical training, spending some years in a Warwick solicitor's

(1) ibid, p. 55- (2) R.M. Jackson, The Machinery of Justice in England, (CUP 1972), p. 331. (3) Originally attornies practised in the common law courts, and solicitors in the court of Chancery. (4) Jpckson, Machinery of Justice, p. 324. - 77-

office before serving a five year clerkship in London where he gained

f a technical acquaintance with the general practice of the Law 1 , (l)

Improvements in standards and training, embodied in the Incorporation of

the Law Society in 1831, and the necessity for attornies and solicitors

to pass examinations (1836-37), enhanced their social position. The

Birmingham Law Society was founded in I8l8, one of its aims being to oppose

'all practices that may have a tendency to bring .. (the profession) .. into discredit or to lessen its respectability. 1 (2)

Although solicitors and attornies did not have the high status o f barristers, nevertheless their education and association with "the Law"

meant they were an accepted part of bourgeois society. This was reinforced

by the fact that recruitment to the legal profession came from the sons

of the well-to-do bourgeoisie, particularly so in Birmingham among the

Dissenters, where many noted families had representatives practising law. '

The third grouping is that of the nobility - gentry. There was

virtually no aristocracy resident in Birmingham during the period in

question. The only family who were part of the nobility were the Gough-

Calthorpe's, Lords of the Manor of Edgbaston. The other members of the

nobility-gentry who became involved in local educational ventures were

mostly from the county families of Warwickshire and Staffordshire - Earl

Bradford and Dartmouth, the Newdigates, Lawleys and Dugdales. The

participation of these families was virtually just at subscription level,

(1) Jessie K. Buckley, Joseph Parkes of Birmingham, (1926), p. 8.

(2) Extract of Society records, quoted in: Robert Robson, The Attorney in Eighteenth-Century England, Cambridge Studies in English Legal History, (CUP 1959), p. 48.

(3) Most notably the Unitarians, including members of the Lee, Ryland, Beale and Wills families. - 78- apart from the fourth Lord Calthorpe and his cousin, there was no nobility-gentry school committee membership.

In determining whether any committee members were of the gentry, the difficulty of a gentry definition has been encountered. They have been described as

'that characteristic but imprecise English social group*' ' who were landowners on a smaller scale than the great proprietors of the nobility. There was virtually no gentry as such in Birmingham, though there was perhaps an urban equivalent who represented the bourgeois social elite of the town. The financial success which gave them their power and prestige coming from their position as major manufacturers or merchants. Their acquisition of property, estates and manor lordships provided them with an entree to the social status of gentry. The trade directories often had a column headed "Nobility, Gentry and Clergy" in which many manufacturers were listed just as "Gent". In compiling the nobility- gentry list, the urban gentry as just defined have been excluded. Wherever possible their background occupation has been discovered. The nobility- gentry group is limited to the peerage and old-established landed families only.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, several occupational groups began to feel a corporate identity, often expressed (2) in the formation of professional bodies. v ' This was partly in response to the demands of an increasingly complex society and the services needed to maintain it, and partly as a means of improving the status of particular occupations; this latter being achieved by controlling via rules and adminsion regulations, the practice of the occupation, enabling the

(1) Asa Briggs, The Age of Improvement, (London 1959), p.11. (2) e.g. Architects and Surveyors who began to organise in the late l8th century, and formed the Institute of British Architects in 1834-5- - 79- exclusion of unqualified or inefficient practitioners. This movement, of which the legal and medical professions were a part, improved both the standards and status of several professional groups.

The fourth grouping "Other Professions" includes those involved in the professional process, as well as those who were officiers of the armed forces. In this group are architects, surveyors, land agents, insurance company managers, bank managers (but not bankers), naval and military officiers, as well as high clerical (i.e. managerial) positions; architects, surveyors and the military form the majority. The men in this grouping were almost certainly respectable members of the bourgeoisie,

As Kitson Clark suggested

•There is ... a good deal of evidence for the existence in the second quarter of the nineteenth century of a fairly large society of professional men . . . whose status was assured and to whom the title of gentlemen would hardly be denied . . .' (l)

Birmingham's development in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into one of the foremost of British industrial towns, meant that the

"captains of industry", whether they were merchants, manufacturers, factors or bankers, were a very important part of the town's economic and social structure. The fifth grouping of the "Big Bourgeoisie" includes men who were involved in industrial production, sale and distribution of goods and the financing of such ventures. As well as leading merchants, the larger retail businesses such as the fashionable tailors and drapers (e.g. R.T. Cadbury), or hatters and glovers (J.B.

Lillington), are included in this group. So too are similar businesses in the food trade - wines and spirits, large grocers, and tea and coffee dealers. In the manufacturing sector smaller business firms or partnerships such as Luckcock's gold and silversmiths have been included,

(l) G. Kitson Clark, The Making of Victorian England, (1962), p.262. - 80 - A problem sometimes encountered in placing these men together as a

social group arises from a vagueness of occupational description in some directories. Men were often listed just as "manufacturer", or "button-

maker", or "ironfounder", with no information as to the size of economic

unit involved, or the status of the individual concerned. Whereas a

merchant or banker would almost by definition be a large scale trader, and relatively well-do-do, a manufacturer need not be so. A "button -maker"

could be an artizan employed by another, a small independent master, or he could be a major employer owning a large manufactory. In such cases other evidence is brought into consideration. Those with vague manufact­ uring occupational descriptions who were Street Commissioners have been included in this group of the big bourgeoisie as the qualification for that position automatically meant they were of the wealthy bourgeois elite. ' Information in industrial trade histories, autobiographies and newspapers also reveals the nature of many vague occupational descriptions. Pictorial advertisements in directories of substantial factories or warehouses belonging to "manufacturer " providers also help to clarify the economic status of the occupation. Similarly, further proof of the bourgeois status of many vaguely described providers can be found in their home addresses, many of which were often in the newly built, fashionable parts of Edgbaston.

The sixth grouping "Petit-bourgeois/Others" is rather heterogeneous, but is mainly composed of those who were, or were likely to be, from the petit bourgeois or proletarian levels of society, though virtually none of the latter class appear to be involved. The group has a large

"industrial" composition and includes trades already met in group five; but, the representatives here, as far as can be ascertained, are workers

[l) To qualify as a street commissioner it was necessary to hold property worth £1,000, and be paying a poor rate of £15 per annum. See C. Gill, 'Birmingham Under the Street Commissioners 1 , University of Birmingham Historical Journal, I (1947-8), pp.255-87. - 81 - or small independent masters, rather than owners. The local service trades to the working population have also been included here - publicans, boot and shoe makers, haberdashers, blacksmiths etc. Also the ordinary clerical jobs - teachers (except K.E.S.), vestry clerks, assistant overseers etc. There are several providers in this group with vague occupational descriptions, such as "gilt toy maker" or "medal and button maker", who may rightfully belong in the big bourgeois group. As no evidence exists of their having considerable property, money or large businesses they are included here as petit-bourgeois.

In order to help confirm the social classification of those listed in vague terms, the wills of men serving on school committees have been examined where possible, and the value of their personal estates at death tabulated. ' The results of this tabulation may be used as an indicator of the wealth and thus the social status of the individual concerned; for status in a community such as Birmingham with no aristocracy, would (2) be one based very much on wealth and its attendant power. v '

The result of the survey of provider^ wills is shown in Table 19. It has produced figures on over 50fo of the big bourgeois group and I6fo of the petit bourgeois group. The general accuracy of the classifications made is confirmed by this table, where the majority of big bourgeois providers are shown leaving personal estates over £1000. Although 46/j of the providers in this group have an unknown probate, ' other information confirms many of them as part of Birmingham's big bourgeoisie. Several

(1) Public Records Office, Chancery Lane. Hereafter PRO. Probate Records and Calendars of Wills 1794-1857. Birmingham Probate Registry records 1858-1943* kept at High Court of Justice, Probate Division, Waterloo Street, Birmingham. Hereafter BPR. (2) My thanks are due to Mr. Clive Behagg who allowed me access to his work on Birmingham Probates 1820-1840. (3) Men who died pre 1794 have not had their wills traced as the PRO collected records do not go any earlier. It was felt that to trace this small percentage would have been unjustifiable in terms of time that would be involved. - 82 -

! TABLE 19

PERSONAL ESTATE VALUES FROM PROBATES

OF SCHOOL PROVIDERS^ 1 '

Size of Big Bourgeoisie Petit-Bourgeoisie personal estate Anglican Dissent Total Anglican Dissent Total Above £100,000 3 5 8 — - - Under £100,000 6 6 12 - — - Under £50,000 49 33 82 — 1 1 Under £10,000 67 25 92 6 1 7 Under £1,000 8 5 13 4 3 7

Total 133 74 207 10 5 15 Unknown 104 74 178 33 43 76 \ 1481 Grand Total 237 385 43 48 91

served as Street Commissioners, held local town government offices - High

Bailiffs (Anglican), Low Bailiffs (Dissenters) - or were magistrates or

mayors. Others are known as prominent business men or industrialists of proven status. It seems unlikely that very many of those who have no probate but have an occupation description placing them in the big bourgeoisie have been mis-classed. In the petit-bourgeois group only

seven men left estates between £1,000 and £10,000 and it seems likely again that most of the unknowns would fall in or below that level. The very lack of any evidence for many of them suggests that they were certainly not of the more prominent big bourgeoisie.

The final grouping consists of those providers whose occupation cannot be traced. This group includes some men designated as "Gent" about whom little else can be ascertained. As directories only often listed those

(l) PRO and BPR. The probates found are a random selection determined by those whose date of death has been found - from a variety of sources, e.g. Probate index, newspapers, biographies etc. who were 'respectable inhabitants 1 * ' it seems likely that both gents and other listed unknowns were of the "respectable classes". It seems that only a small percentage of the unknowns could be working class. The percentage of unknowns is not large enough to invalidate any conclusions which may be drawn about the socinl origins of providers of schooling.

It was suggested at the start of this section that the Anglican providers were almost exclusively from the respectable bourgeoisie of the town. Table 20 below, showing the breakdown of providers occupations, confirms this statement, revealing only 7f$ of providers coming from the petit-bourgeois/others group. The Dissenting providers also have a strong basis of respectable bourgeois support, particularly from the Unitarians and Quakers, but the very high "unknown" figure strongly suggests that, bearing in mind the lower social status of non-conformity, that many of the dissenting school providers were from the petit bourgeoisie grouping.

TABLE 20 OCCUPATIONS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE (DAY and SUNDAY) 1781-1851 (2)

ANGLICANS DISSENT

Occupational Committee . Qf Committee . Qf total Group Places ' Places ' Clergy 136 20 54 Hi RS. Legal/Medical 63 gi74 28 >4 Nobility/Gentry 2 4" — — Other Professions 27 4 11 2— Big Bourgoisie/Others 361 52f 178 37 7 3 Petit Bourgeoisie/others 53 '4 61 12f Unknown 41 6 150 31 Total 683 100 482 100 (l) R. Wrightson, Wrigjatson ' s New Triennial Directory of Birmingham, (Birmingham l8l8) front cover and frontispiece. (2) Information for the table extracted from card file. The figures in this table represent committee places rather than committee members. Thus Rev. G.M. Yorke who was a KES Governor, Blue Coat Committee member and ran National and Sunday Schools at St. Philips, counts as 4 places out of the clergy total of 136. This applies to most tables. Having made this basic analysis of the social distribution of

committee places it is necessary to examine the information provided in greater detail. It is possible that during the seventy years under consideration different occupational groups may have changed their relative

importance in relation to the whole providing body. An examination of

the changing composition of committees may help to explain the changing trends of provision noted in Chapter 2.

Ill

This section examines in detail the composition of committees. As far as the Anglicans are concerned, it argues that although committees 1 memberships changed, they remained in the control of the big bourgeoisie and the professions, the "middle classes", throughout the period. The period, as noted earlier, is divided into three spans of approximately twenty three years to enable changes in occupational participation to be noted. This has only proved possible for the Anglicans, for, of the records of the Dissenting groups researched, only the Unitarians cover the complete time span. The other Dissenters' records mainly refer to post 1820. Consequently the Dissenters are treated en bloc. For the Dissenters it will be argued that although petit-bourgeois participation was much higher than that of the Anglicans, the big bourgeoisie were

probably even so the dominant force. The final part of the section considers the inter-denominational venture of the Infant School Movement. - 85-

THE ANGLICANS

TABLE 21

ANGLICAN DAY AND SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE PLACES

Occupational Total Period l?8l - 1804 1805 - 1828 1829 - 1851 Groups Places % Places % Places $ Places $ Clergy 136 20 20 14i 34 14i 105 25f

Legal/Medical 63 9i 7 5 15 6J 48 II--LJ-43- Nobility/Gentry i 1 2. 4 - - _ — 2 2 Other Professions 27 4 — - 6 2* 23 5^ Big Bourgeoisie 361 52f 86 61* 160 66-J 179 44

Petit Bourgeosie/ oo i c; 3 Others 53 7? C. C. -L _,) /, 16 6f 22 5* Unknown 41 6 5 3^- 9X «-^^ ^3- 27 64

Total 683 100 140 100 240 100J 407 99f

In considering the composition of the Anglican day and Sunday school

committees as shown above, one of the more noticeable features is the

overall rise in committee places. The comparison between the three periods shows the numbers almost trebling with over half the total places

coming in the last period. During this time both the Blue Coat

Committee and the King Edward's Governors kept their committee size stable, about 25 and 20 members respectively. The rise in overall numbers can be attributed to the development of national schools and the Sunday schools associated with them. Table 22 below illustrates this,

(l) It will be noted that the "Total Period" figures do not match the individual periods if the latter are added together. This happens because when a providers term of office overlaps the periods he is counted in each period. This applies to most tables. Also as percentages have been given to the nearest ^-, not all add up to a total of 100. TABLE 22

INCREASE OP NATIONAL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE PLACES (1)

Committees 1781-1851 1781-1804 1805-1828 1829-1851 KE and Blue Coat 293 114 130 137 National Schools 184 — 60 131 Sunday Schools 206 26 50 139

Total Places 683 140 240 407

It must be mentioned again that the National School figures are incomplete

so that numbers of National and Sunday school places are smaller than they

should be.

The group increasing its committee activity most noticeably was

that of the clergy. By the last period they were occupying over 25$ of

all committee places. The question must be asked as to why they exper­

ienced such an upsurge. Traditionally the clergy had been seen as the

educators of the people, primarily in the religious beliefs of the Church

of England. During the eighteenth century there was a lack of church

effort in education, symptomatic of a general laxity in the Anglican

church, and in some places even clerical hostility-to education, such as

that which met Hannah More. Even in those places where the clergy did

provide education it was designed 'not to exalt, but to humble 1 not (2) moving pupils 'above their station. |V ' More often, though, the clergy

showed an indifference to education which reflected a complacency which

was true of the Church as a whole.

(1) Figures compiled from card file. Hereafter Card file.

(2) F. Warre Cornish, English Church in XIX Century, (1910) Part 1, p.202; quoted in Bowen, Idea of Victorian Church, p.196. - 87-

In the last years of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries a change of attitude occurred amongst some of the

clergy. Those of the growing Evangelical movement wanted the church to

adequately fulfill its moral role as educator of the people, as part of a

revival of church life and effec '.veness. Also, many clergy felt that

the growing influence of Dissent and the threat posed by the French Revolution needed a countering force, this involving a reassertion of (l) Anglican principles and belief. '

The increasing awareness of the Anglican church of the need for a resurgance was reflected in several ways. Laxity and corruption in the church, seen in absenteeism, pluralism and nepotism, were attacked, and the administration of the church was improved during the nineteenth century. There was also a gradual increase in clergy interest and participation in schooling. By 1851 many clergymen were involved in the promotion of some form of schooling within their parishes. As the figures suggest, their main area of participation lay in the work of National and Sunday schools. At this point it is only the quantitative changes that are being considered, but it is important to remember that these changes may well reflect changes of attitutde, these being considered

in succeeding chapters.

The other occupational group shown to be increasing was that of the legal and medical professions, which almost doubled its percentage participation. This increase was partly a result of their growing status, which rendered them more acceptable to the existing middle class committee

membership. It was also due to the expansion of the professions in the

growing regional centre of Birmingham, and the desire of men in an

occupation of growing social status to gain outlets of power and

(l) See Richard Alien Soloway, Prelates and People, Ecclesiastical Social Thought in England 1783-1832, (1969) ^especially Chapter X, Education and Social Order, 1783-1830. influence. ' Places on school committees could offer such influence and social prestige.

The other changes of note shown in Table 21 are the decline in participation of the big bourgeoisie by some 21^ over the last two periods, and a similar decline of the petit-bourgeois group between the first two periods. In the latter case it would seem that the first period number of 22 places is probably exaggerated by several men who, because of vague occupational description, have been classified as petit-bourgeois small masters, when they possibly were large scale manufacturers. The greater extent and detail of occupational description in the evidence of the later periods co-incides with the fall in the petit-bourgeois share of committee places. The decline of the big bourgeoisie's participation is perhaps suggestive of a declining interest amongst them in the need for investing in education. It is perhaps significant that this decline, which is seen both in percentage terms as well as in a reversal of the earlier period's growth trend, is matched by the last period f s surge in clergy interest and participation.

This almost total dominance of the big bourgeois sector of the community over the small masters and artizan employees is perhaps the most striking feature of the Anglican features. Although the petit- bourgeois group accounted for only 6-|$ of the overall total of places, this figure, as suggested, from evidence of probates, family connections or business associations, possibly contains some members of the big bourgeoisie.

(l) Although the strtus of the legal profession was much improved by mid 19th century, it was still not always approved of by the landed gentry. The Rector of Solihull's wife, a daughter of the gentry, wrote in her diary in 1845 of some friends, 'How long one may know people intimately yet never learn they are next of kin to an attorney^ ' Lady 1'iary Clive (Ed.), Diary of Caroline Glive, p.203. -89 -

The peripheral evidence pertaining to several of the "Unknown" group suggests the same. As far as Anglican education was concerned, its direction and control was very much in the hands of the social leaders of the town, the professions and the big bourgeoisie. A conclusion supported by the large number of magistrates, High Bailiffs and Street Commissioners who were also members of Anglican school committees.

It was mentioned earlier that the great increase in committee places was 'almost entirely due to the development of National schools and the expansion of Sunday schools. The question must now be asked as to whether the changing occupational percentages described are due solely to these schools, or whether other schools were experiencing similar changes.

To enable this question to be answered, Table 23 > has the collated committee occupations of different school groups shown over the three periods. It has already been noted that clergy participation rose greatly, and the figures show all groups, except King Edward's, having a significant clerical increase. Clergy participation was high at King Edward's, however, as the majority of the teaching staff were clergymen. The figures suggest that increasing clerical activity was not just confined to the new National schools. Similarly the increase of the legal and medical professions was reflected in all the groups.

Two other points which arise from Table 23 need further comment. Firstly, the petit-bourgeois group increased its share of National and Sunday school committee places while its Blue Coat share declined; there were no King Edward's Governors from this group. Secondly, the National and Sunday Schools had the vast majority of "unknowns", and thus potential members of the petit-bourgeois, serving on their committees. Putting these two points together, it may be suggested that the committees of the socially less prestigious National and Sunday school r, were more open TABLE 23

ANGLICAN SCHOOL COMMITTEES : MEMBERS 1 OCCUPATIONS ^

Total Period 1781-1804 1804-1828 1829-1851

K.E.S. 14 5 4 7 Blue Coat 25 7 12 15 CLERGY National 49 — 12 41 Sunday 48 8 6 42 Total 136 20 34 105 LEGAL K.E. S. 17 2 6 13 AND Blue Coat 16 3 7 9 MEDICAL National 15 - 2 13 PROFESSIONS Sunday 15 2 — 13 Total 63 7 15 48 (NOBILITY) K.E.S. (1) 2 (GENTRY ) Blue Coat j:j : (-) 2 (1) 4 National 8i I OTHER (-) 10 (— ) - (-) 2 (-) 8 PROFESSIONS Sunday (-) 10 (-) (-) 2 (-) 9 Total (2) 27 (-) (-) 6 (2) 23 BIG K.E. S. 60 33 31 24 BOURGEOISIE Blue Coat 116 39 54 56 National 86 — 40 49 Sunday 99 14 35 50 Total 361 86 160 179 PETIT- K.E. S. _ _ _ _ BOURGEOIS Blue Coat 27 21 11 2 AND National 11 — 2 9 OTHERS Sunday 15 1 3 11 Total 53 22 16 22 K.E.IS. _ — — — Blue Coat 9 4 3 2 UNKNOWN National 13 - 2 11 Sunday 19 1 4 14 Total 41 5 9 27 K.E.S. 94 40 41 48 GRAND Blue Coat 199 74 89 89s TOTAL National 184 — 60 131 Sunday 206 26 50 139 Total 683 140 240 407

(l ) Card file. N.B. William Russell, King Edward's Governor was a Unitarian; the only Dissenter on an Anglican committee during this period. to the petit bourgeoisie than were the committees of the Blue Coat or

King Edward's schools. Yet, even so, these figures reinforce the already noted position of the dominance of the middle classes, for in the combined committee places of the National and Sunday schools, the petit-bourgeois plus unknown share was only 58 out of 390, about

The inter school breakdown of Table 23 suggests that although the overall rise in committee members was almost entirely due to the National and Sunday Schools 1 expansion, the changing occupational levels were reflected over the whole spectrum. They did not just occur with the introduction of the National School movement but were reflections of social and culture pressures.

A consideration of the committee composition of Anglican day schools reveals a network of providers who served on more than one committee, as seen below in Table 24. It can be seen from this that all four groups of Anglican providers had at least one third of their membership serving

TABLE 24 ANGLICAN PROVIDERS - CROSS COMMITTEE ^rwwv-r-D U)

School Numbers of Committee places On one On more Committees KES Blue Coat National Sunday cttee only than one K.E.S. 94* 28 21 14 50 44 Blue Coat 28 199* 35 40 129 70 National 21 35 184* 128 31 153 Sunday 14 40 128 206* 41 165 *Total number of committee places for each category 1781-1851 with another group, and in the case of National and Sunday schools a very high percentage, this latter being largely due to National Schools' committees controlling both the day and Sunday schools of individual churches. The above figures when broken down into the three time periods

(l) Ibid. - 92 - show that the amount of cross committee membership within the groups remained steady, only increasing overall with the expansion of the number of National schools.

Table 25 has been constructed showing the numbers of each occupational group involved on more than one committee for each school group. It also shows the percentage of each occupation at each type of school that was involved with another committee. This table confirms the clergy as being the most active group, as well as re-affirming the close relationship between National and Sunday schools. The major activity of the clergy is further seen in the fact that of 6 providers who served on all 4 types of committee, four were clergymen.

TABLE 25

THE NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES OF EACH

OCCUPATION GROUP IN EACH SCHOOL GROUP SERVING ON

MORE THAN ONE COMMITTEE^ ^

Occupational K.E .3. Blue Coat National Sunday Total Group No % No % No % No % No % Clergy 12 86 16 64 45 92 44 92 117 86 Legal/Medical 4 24 3 19 5 33 13 87 25 40 Gentry - - — - - - - — — — Other profs. 1 50 1 20 9 90 9 90 20 74 Big Bourgeoisie 27 45 48 41 72 84 77 78 222 62 Petit-bourg. - — 1 4 10 91 9 60 20 38 Unknown - — 2 11 12 92 13 68 28 64

Totals 44 47 70 35 153 83 165 80 432 63

There is a problem in knowing how "active" committee members were when elected. The available evidence of committee meetings, usually in the form of committee minutes, rarely reveals the names of proposers of

(l) Ibid. motions or contributors to debate. At best there is frequently just a list of those attending the meeting. As far as can be ascertained from the Blue Coat and King Edward's minutes there was an improvement in both attendance and frequency of meetings throughout the period. The table shown below illustrates the improvement in the number of board meetings held each year by the King Edward 1 s Governors. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century several clergymen were notable absentees from meetings, largely because they were pluralist clergy living in their other parishes.

TABLE 26

MEETINGS OF THE GOVISRNORS OF KING EDWARD'S SCHOOLS

Years No. meeting Av per year Years No. meetings Av per year 1781 - 1790 59 5-9 1821 - 1830 63 6.3 1791 - 1800 82 8.2 1831 - 1840 141 14.1 1801 - 1810 77 7-7 1841 - 1850 186 18.6 1811 - 1820 54 5-4 * * *

In the National schools the clergy seem to be the most active committee members. In certain cases the minister was the "sole" manager and thus the committee of the school. In those schools with full committees, most of the correspondence written to the National Society was sent by the clergy of the parishes, not by members of the committees; sometimes letters were signed by committee secretaries. The clergy frequently were the leading force in the National school committees, and the surviving evidence in the National Society files is naturally heavily weighted with clerical communications. Yet, even so, this bias reflects the role plnyed by the clergy in both National and Sunday schools.

It has been suggested that there was a network of providers in

Birmingham who maintained control of provided schooling. To a certain

(l) KES, Governor's Attendance Register. TABLE (1) FAMILY CONNECTIONS AMONGST KING EDWARDS GOVEENORS

Name Relationship Years Served

John Cope ) Father 1770 - 1780 John Cope ) Son 1789 - 1822 John Cope ) Grandson 1825 - 1853 Francis Coales ) Brother 1769 - 1793 Robert Coales ) Brother 1780 - 1804 James Wooley ) Nephew 1797 - 1835 Wm. Anderton ) Father 1797 - 1833 Isaac Anderton ) Son 1821 - 1852 Wm. Anderton ) Son (?) 1835 - 1851 Isaac Spooner ) Brother 1819 - 1845 Rchd. Spooner ) Brother 1851 - 1864 W.W. Mason ) Father 1789 - 1797 James Mason ) Son 1824-26: 36-38 James Alston ) Father 1797 1827 W.C. Alston ) Son 1829 1862 Dr. Geo. Freer ) Father 1810 1823 Dr. Geo. Freer ) Son 1823 1830 Dr. John Johnstone ) Uncle 1835 1836 Dr. James Johnstone) Nephew 1837 1867 Theodore Price ) Uncle 1797 1844 Philemon Price ) Nephew ), 1819 1822 Dr. J. Darwall ) Son-in-law ) 1830 1833 Francis Goodall ) Father 1770 1792 Michael Goodall ) Son 1797 1829 John Whateley ) Father 1770 - 1794 J.W. Whateley ) Son

Dr. Darwall was also the nephew of J.W. Whateley / v J.W. Whateley was School Secretary and Solicitor from 1821 to 1873 '

extent this was maintained through family connections in a smaller, more exclusive coterie of the middle classes. This was most evident in the

(1) Card file. (2) J.ff. Whateley has been included in the card files as a King Edward's School "provider". The historian of the school, T. Hutton, noted that Whateley was 'clearly a prime factor in the administration of the School, and, very often, something more than a mere advisor on policy' Hutton commented that, in the various attacks made against the Governors by Town Councils etc., Whateley was always singled out for criticism. T.W. Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, (Birmingham, 1952), p.36. - 95 - make up of the King Edward's Governor's Board. As Table 27 shows family connections were considerable, and the departure of one member of a family was very often followed by a replacement from the same family. Not all family connections are shown here. There were also some Governors

(1781-1851) who had relations serving either pre 1781 or post 1851, they have not been included. The table shows that almost one third of Governors were certainly a very exclusive body, and as Table 23 showed, representative of the bourgeois and professional elite of Birmingham.

Membership amongst Blue Coat Committees reveals the existence of similar family connections, but not on the same scale as at King Edward's or with immediate replacement sometimes found at the Grammar School. "Family" does not seem to have been of importance in the composition of the Blue Coat committee. Similarly, the National schools, being a varied collection of schools with small committees and a relatively short time span in the period of this thesis, do not reveal a notable network of close family/committee relationships. However, family involvement can be seen through the presence on differing committees of members of one family - the names of Simcox, Green, Wilkes, Rabone, Kempson, Richards, Unett - are found on various committees throughout the period. The weight of evidence suggests that school provision was not just in the hands of the big bourgeoisie, but was to a certain extent kept in an even more exclusive grouping through family connections.

THE DISSENTERS

The analysis of Dissenting providers cannot be made in the same detail as that of the Anglicans. The limited evidence on Dissenting schooling has already been mentioned; thus only representative schools from some Dissenting groups have been examined in great detail. These, and the time spans of their available school committee minutes or reports are -96 - illus-tra-ted in Table 28.

TABLE 28

(1) SCHOOLS FROM WHICH DISSENTING PROVIDERS HAVE Bl COUNTED

Providing Denomination School/Schools Years with Minutes or Reports

Undenominat i onal Lancasterian Boys Day 1812:1822:1828- 1830 Unitarian Protestant Charity Day 1781-1795: 1825-1851 Old Meeting Sunday 1787-1806: 1816-1818 New Meeting Sunday 1787 - 1851. Quaker First Day (Sunday) 1847 Wesleyan Cherry St. Sunday 1838 - 1851 Independent Carrs Lane Sunday 1812 - 1845 M Carrs Lane Day 1844 - 1845 Roman Catholic St. Chad & St. Peter Sunday 1809 - 1834 St. Chad & St. Peter Day 1823 - 1834 St. Chad Sunday and Day 1834 - 1838 Various (Catholic Poor School Committee) 1849 - 1851

In order to make a comparison with the Anglicans a table of the occupations of committee members from the schools listed in Table 28 has been compiled. Although Table 29 below only reflects a percentage of Dissenting Schools, it is felt that they are representative of the balance of Dissenting schools in Birmingham. The Sunday schools of the leading Dissenting denominations in Birmingham are represented; the Unitarians by those of the Old and New Meetings, the tfesleyans by those of Cherry St, the Catholics by the combined schools of St. Chad's and St. Peter's, and the Independents by the Carrs Lane schools. All of these chapels were the leading or founding chapels of their denominations in Birmingham. Apart from the Protestant Dissenting Charity School and the Lancasterian

School, Dissenting day schooling did not begin in earnest until the l840's

(l) See Bibliography for locations of Minutes and Reports. - 97-

This is reflected in the table by fewer day school committees, and none

from the "Wesleyans. This does not imbalance the figures, as the evidence

from the Catholic, Carrs Lane as well as Anglican day school committees,

suggests that the Sunday and day schools of any one particular church or

chapel were frequently controlled by the same committee. The absence of

detailed minutes from Baptist sources is to be regretted. However, as the 1851 Census revealed, their share of day schooling was very small,

though Sunday schooling was more prominent. Though the Baptists are not represented in the detailed figures and tables, considerable reference will be made to them in succeeding chapters based on the evidence which has proved accessible regarding their denominations schooling.

TABLE 29

OCCUPATIONAL BREAKDOWN OF DISSENTING .SCHOOL

COMMITTEE PLACES ' 2 '

Occupational fo Of Independ. ¥eslyn. Roman No. of Quakers Group Places Total arians Carrs La. Cherry St. Catholics

Clergy 54 11* 14 1 24 15 Legal/Medical 28 5t 18 3 3 4 Nobility/Gentry — — — — — - Other Profess. 11 pi^4 •3 _ 4 1 3 Big Bourgeoisie 178 37 105 18 17 26 12 Petit Bourgeoisie /Others 61 12f 21 9 28 3 Unknown 150 31 33 4 52 24 37 Total 482 100 194 22 86 106 74

The figures in Table 29 at first sight suggest a similarity to the Anglican breakdown, with the major share of provision going to the big bourgeoisie and the clergy combined, but certain clarifying points must

be made. The most noticeable difference is found in the "Unknown" column

(l) Mann 1851. Summary Tables P & S, pages clvii and clxxxii. There were two Baptist day schools containing 372 children, i.e. 2.8$ of all provided day schooling. There were ten Baptist Sunday schools with 2,582, this being 12$ of the total of provided Sunday schooling. Mann's figures show the Baptists to be the fourth largest Sunday school providers following the Anglicans with 41-6/j, Wenleyans 17/o and the Independents (2) Card file. - 98 - where 31$ of the total places are found, this is in comparison to 6%

in the Anglican figures. The majority of these unknowns, some 75^, come

from the Wesleyan, Independent and Roman Catholic groups, denominations

whose social composition in general tended to be lower than that of the

Unitarians and Quakers. ' This lower status social composition suggests

that perhaps many of the unknowns were from the petit-bourgeoisie and others group, as well as accounting for the fact that they have proven (2) untraceable in trade directories. ' This view is supported by the Wesleyan figures where the smallest percentage of unknowns is matched with the largest percentage of the petit-bourgeoisie. It seems probable that, with the exception of the Unitarians and Quakers, the petit bourge­ oisie figures are under-estimated by the available evidence.

The possibility that the unknowns may contain many petit-bourgeois providers increases the importance of another facet of the Dissenting figures, this being the larger amount of proven petit-bourgeois involvement in comparison to the Anglicans, some 12;V$> to 7l$» The percentage involvement of the petit-bourgeoisie is even greater when the higher status Unitarians and Quakers are omitted, the proven petit-bourgeois involvement in the remaining groups being just over 15$>« On the other hand, the Unitarian and Quaker unknowns seem more likely to belong to the middle class grouping, a supposition supported by details of place of residence, similarity of surname with other noted families or other committee work outside education of these providers. Certainly the

(1) R.W. Ram, The Social Evolution of Five Dissenting Communities in Birmingham, 1730-1870, unpublished Ph.D., University of Birminghata, (1972), pp.69-71.Ram argues that Unitarians and Quakers are well represented in trade directories whereas Independents (Carrs Lane) and Baptists (Cannon St.) are not. This is 'evidence for believing non-identification (in directories) to be linked to inferior status 1 , for as Ram shows the Unitarians and Quakers were of a much higher status than the other dissenting groups, (2) Ibid., p.63, Ram notes that identification levels are lower among subordinate status groups. - 99 -

Unitarians and Quakers were the leading social representatives of

Dissent in Birmingham, as well as being amongst the most wealthy. '

The evidence suggests a social split in Dissent between the wealthier

Unitarians and Quakers and the other denominations. This is to a certain extent confirmed by the fact that the only established Dissenting day charity school was solely run by Unitarians, and that the new venture with the "Lancasterian" school (whose establishment was something of a prestige matter for local Dissent) was almost exclusively run by Unitarians and Quakers. During the years for which evidence is available almost all the committee members were from these two denominations and they were all from the middle class grouping of clergy, professions and the big bourgeoisie.

The information on the Protestant Dissenting School's committee members is shown below in Table 30. The table shows that the majority of committee places, some 63$, were filled by members of the big bourgeoisie

——————TABLE 30 (2) COMMITTEE PLACES OF THE PROTESTANT DISSENTING CHARITY SCHOOL Occupational Group Total Periods 1781-1795 1825-1851 Clergy 10 55 Legal/Medical Professions 10 28 Nobility-Gentry - - - Other Professions 1 - 1 Big bourgeoisie 62 26 38 Petit-bourgeoisie/Others - - - Unknown 15 11 4 Total 98 44 56

(1) Ibid, pp.243-5>249-54. See Also Table 19 on probates of providers.

(2) Card file. The two time-spans are unequal, the second being almost twice as long as the first. Comparisons between them are therefore difficult to make. - 100 - and that the majority of the remaining places were occupied by the other middle class groupings. The absence of any proven petit bourgeois

involvement is also very noticeable, and in view of the dominance of

the big bourgeoisie and the professions (some 85$ of all committee places),

it seems likely that few, if any, of the 15 unknowns would be from the

petit-bourgeoisie.

Though the Unitarian Meeting were dominated by the wealthy bourgeoisie

they had also had quite a large petit-bourgeois following, several of

whom were committee members in the Unitarian Sunday schools. An

occupational breakdown of Unitarian committees into those of the two

meetings shown below in Table 31 suggests a possible difference between

the two meetings. The Old Meeting figures are less than the New

Meetings as no specific Sunday School Committee records appear to have

survived after l8l8 for the Old Meeting; though there are invaluable

records of the Old Meeting teacher's society. Bearing in mind this

numerical deficiency it can be seen that the petit-bourgeoisie's share

of Old Meeting places (c,17$) is considerably higher than that of the

New Meeting (c.9f$)» a comparison not materially affected by one

Unitarian whose place of meeting is unknown. Similarly, the big

bourgeoisie is more strongly represented at the New Meeting than at the

Old Meeting, though in this case there is a larger body of "unknown meeting"

which could alter the balance. It is, however, a possibility that should

be borne in mind that the Old Meeting was perhaps more open to the petit-

bourgeoisie than the New Meeting. This will be considered in succeeding

chapters when the role of the "petit-bourgeois and others" group in the

Unitarian Sunday schools is examined more closely. - 101 -

TABLE 31

OCCUPATIONS OF OLD AND NEW MEETING COMMITTEE MEWTRFT? S

Occupational Groups Total Places Old Meeting New Meeting Uncertain Clergy 14 4 10 Legal/Medical Professions 18 6 10 2 Nobility/Gentry Other Professions 3 — 3 — Big bourgeoisie 105 23 67 15 Petit-bourgeois/Others 21 9 11 1 Unknown 33 10 12 ll Total 194 52 113 29

In considering the total figures of Dissenting committees a further point to be made is that the great rise in the participation of the Anglican clergy is not fully matched by the Dissenting clergy. This is partly due to bias of evidence and partly to Dissenting policy. In some of the dissenting denominations where there was a considerable degree of congregational autonomy, the running of schools or even participation on the committee was not seen as being a necessary part of the minister's job. The Unitarians were amongst those who followed this course, although many of their ministers did participate on committees, Other denominations, such as Carrs Lane, reveal low clergy participation. This occurred because Carrs Lane had the Rev. J.A. James as sole pastor from I805-l859> there rarely being a co-pastor. This was also true for other congregations not recorded in the figures of this thesis. Other denominations tend to exaggerate the figures in the other direction. Wesleyan ministers at Cherry Street were always on the school committee, the rapid changeover of the Wesleyan ministers perhaps over emphasising the extent of their participation. This also seems to have applied to

(l) Ibid. - 102 - the Catholics of St. Chad's and St. Peter's.

The overall view of Dissenting provision suggested by the committee

figures is that although the middle classes combination of the professions and the big bourgeoisie was strong, it did not have the almost total

domination of its Anglican counterpart. The Anglican figures revealed a network of providers serving between different committees, as well as a close network based on family. The former is not particularly evident in Dissent, but family connections are seen, particularly among the Unitarians and Quakers. Of the 194 Unitarian providers 76 were related by blood or marriage to other providers. The families shown in Table 32

TABLE 32

COMMITTEE] MEMBERS FROM PROMINENT UNITARIAN FAMILIES^ 1 '

Family No. Family No. Family No. Ryland 11 Smith 5 Russell 3 Lee 6 Phipson 4 Clark 3 Blyth 5 Kenrick 4 Hunt 3 Beale 5 Pemberton 3 Martineau 2

not only had several members involved in committee work, but as in the case of the Rylands and Phipsons, were also inter-related by marriage. The extent of evidence for other denominations does not cover the whole period and relationships amongst committee members have less chance of being revealed. There is some evidence though, which suggests that each denomination had a small internal network of connections, though not on the scale of the Anglicans, Unitarians or Quakers. The amount of inter­

denominational co-operation was very limited. The Lancasterian school

and Sunday School Union being almost the only examples, the latter being somewhat unsuccessful. The one major form of co-operation amongst Dissent

(l) Ibid. - 103 -

and the Anglicans was that of the Infant School Movement, which is outlined in the following section.

There are more provisos and uncertainties in the Dissenting figures than in the Anglican figures, this being due to lack of extensive

evidence, greater numbers of unknown occupations, and in the case of the Catholics very little additional information on providers. Despite these deficiencies, there is more than enough evidence to enable trends to be discussed and valid conclusions drawn.

Co-operation ; The Infant School Movement

This joint venture between Anglicans and Dissent which commenced in the late 1820's has left committee records from its Annual Reports for the years 1826-1839- The composition of its committee is shown below in Table 33 • Only seven of its members are not serving on other committees, two Quakers from the big bourgeoisie group, and five Anglicans:-

TABLE 33

THE INFANT SCHOOL ; OCCUPATIONS OF ITS COMMITTEE^ 2 '

Occupational Groups Total Anglican Unitarian Quaker Carrs La.I. Clergy 12 11 - 1 Legal/Medical 32 1 Nobility/Gentry 11 - Other Professions - - - - - Big Bourgeoisie 24 8 4 11 1 Petit Bourgeoisie - - - - - Unknown 2* - 1 - - Total 42 22 6 11 2 *0ne committee member with unknown occupation is also of unknown denomination,

(1) Birmingham Infant School Annual Reports; lst-8th, 10th-14th, (Birmingham 1826-1839)

(2) Card file. two clergy, two big bourgeoisie and one noble - Lord Calthorpe. The composition of the committee parallels that of the King Edward's School

Governors and that of the Protestant Dissenting Charity School. There are no petit-bourgeois members and the vast majority of support comes from the clergy and big bourgeoisie.

The committee of this venture was from the wealthier bourgeoisie and included four Anglican bankers, and four Dissenting bankers. There was also a considerable amount of inter-connection within the group. The leading partners of the Taylor and Lloyd and Galton and James banks were on the committee. Isaac Spooner, also a banker, had his father (Rev. ¥.

Spooner) as a fellow committee member, as was his uncle, Lord Calthorpe.

In all, fourteen out of the thirty seven members had either family or business connections with another of this same committee. Thus although this was an inter-denominational venture, its committee structure was based on very similar lines to the major Anglican and existing "Dissenting"

day schools.

IV

The changes and developments in the committees of Anglican and

Dissenting schools, and the increase in the number of school committees were reflective of the political development of the locality. The period

in question saw changes in the mode and nature of local government in

Birmingham. The management and control of schools was one method by which individuals or groups could gain a share of power and influence in the expanding community.

In 1781 the nature of Birmingham's town government was distinctly parochial. Birmingham was neither incorporated nor was it represented in Parliament; though, even so, it was able to bring pressure and - 105 -

influence to bear through the local county M.P.'s. ' Local government

was based on the ancient manorial court and its officers, the vestries,

the Street Commissioners and the magistracy. The manorial government was

headed by the High and the Low Bailiffs, who, by the late eighteenth

century, were little more than social figure heads, taking little part

in the effective administration of the town. By tradition the High

Bailiff was always an Anglican and the Low Bailiff a Dissenter. The

administration of the town was largely controlled by the Street Commissioners,

a self appointed body formed in 1769 and confirmed by an Act of Parliament.

They were responsible for much town improvement in the way of lighting, (2) paving, etc., and acted as a kind of unofficial corporation. ' Working

alongside the Street Commissioners were the Guardians of the Poor, formed

in 1783> who administered poor relief and organized the workhouse. They and the Street Commissioners were representative of

'the wealthier and more independent class of ratepayers' '

Both Anglicans and Dissenters served on these committees, though their

composition was predominantly Anglican. ' The other bases of power and

authority, the vestries and the magistracy, were up until the 1830's both Anglican dominated.

The general pattern of town government in England at the beginning of

the nineteenth century was, it has been argued, of a ruling Tory-Anglican

elite (often running closed corporations) being challenged by a rising (5) bourgeoisie who were mostly Dissenters. ' This pattern is not wholly

(1) J. Money, 'Birmingham and the West Midlands, 1760-1793: Politics and Regional Identity in the English Provinces in the Later Eighteenth Century', Midland History, Vol.1, No.l., (Spring 1971), pp.10-13. (2) Derek Fraser, Urban Politics in Victorian England, (Leicester, 1976), p.101. See also: Gill, 'Birmingham Street Commissioners'. (3) C. Gill, History of Birmingham, 2 vols, (Oxford 1952), Vol.1,p.149; E.P. Hennock, Fit and Proper Persons, (1973), p.20. (4) Ram, Five Dissenting Communities, p.86. (5) Fraser, Urban Politics, pp.115-16. - 106 - applicable to Birmingham, for the Dissenters through the Street Commissioners,

Board of Guardians and Manor Court did have access to power and authority.

Dissent was perhaps stronger in Birmingham than in other towns, both the Unitarians and the Quakers were represented by many wealthy, influential figures, and they fo_Jied a powerful lobby. Asa Briggs has noted that Birmingham in the nineteenth century became a stronghold of Dissent, and that dissenters

'did much to mould the economic, social, and political life of the town 1 particularly in the Victorian era. ' Though most of the dissenters involved with the Street Commissioners and the Guardians of the Poor were politically moderate there seems to have been considerable antagonism between them and the Anglicans. Evidence of this can be found in the background events to, and the aftermath of, the Priestley riots; in the strong opposition to the possible repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts; and in later conflicts over Reform and incorporation.

The Anglican-Dissenting differences were exacerbated during the 1830's when the issues of Church rates, parliamentary reform, and municipal incorporation came to the fore. These movements tended to assume a religious as well as a political tone as rival bourgeois elites of different religious persuasions struggled for the supremacy of local (2\ government: ' The result of these struggles, with the achievement of parliamentary representation and borough incorporation, was to keep "Dissent" in power for over thirty years.

This changing and dynamic political situation was reflected in the

(1) A. Briggs, History of Birmingham, 2 vols., (Oxford 1952), Vol.2., pp.1-2.

(2) Fraser, Urban Politics, pp.102 and 116. - 10? - area of school provision. There is a significant correlation between political involvement in the various organs of town government, and participation on school committees in the provision of education. The roll of High Bailiffs from 1781 to 1851 contains many Anglican school

committee men, including seventeen Governors of the King Edward's schools.

Similarly the list of Low Bailiffs reveals a majority of Unitarian school

committee members. The Street Commissioners, other manorial offices and

Guardians of the Poor all contain large proportions of men who served

on school committees. Similarly, after incorporation, of the men who

were Mayors, Councillors and Aldermen, many were also school committee

men. The growth in school committees, the increasing participation of

clergy and professional men, and the movement of education into the

political arena in the 1830 f s and 1840's, suggests that considerable value

was placed on the control of school committees as a means of obtaining a

share in local power, the efforts of Dissent during the period up

to 1867 to reform the King Edward's Governing body being symptomatic of

this.

The political awareness of school committee members is also revealed

in their participation in various non-educational pressure groups or

political organizations. A few examples will illustrate this. In

1790 half of the King Edward's Governors signed a petition opposing the

repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts; it was also signed by several

Blue Coat Committee members. In 1792 the "Birmingham Association for

the Protection of Liberty and Property Against Republicans and Levellers"

was formed; among the nineteen-member committee of this strongly anti-

Jacobin and anti-liberal association were seven King Edward's Governors

and four Blue Coat committee men. The 1797 formation of volunteers in

"The Loyal Birmingham Associated Cavalry" contained a quarter of the

King Edward's Governors and several Blue Coat men. Later during the - 108 - reform agitation in 1832 nine King Edward's Governors and sixteen of the

Blue Coat committee signed a pro King and constitution petition condemning

'the despotism of democracy . . . the most odious and insupportable of all despotisms.• (l)

The examples quoted in the previous paragraph all related to Anglican

committees, similar examples of Dissenting school committee men acting in political pressure groups, signing petitions and taking part in town meetings are also to be found. In 1792 when Dissent was under consider­

able pressure in Birmingham following the riots of 1791» a meeting of

"respectable Protestant Dissenters" was held. This meeting, mostly of leading Unitarians, was to

'declare their political principles'.

They proclaimed their loyalty to the Constitution, as asserted in 1686,

but noted that because of abuses which had crept in since

'they declare themselves warm and zealous Friends to such a Parliamentary Reform as shall make the Repres­ entation speak the Voice of the People . . .' (2)

Unfortunately a list of those at the meeting was not quoted, only the presence of the chairman, William Russell. It may be fairly assumed, however, that in a major meeting of this nature involving leading

Unitarians, that several of the Sunday school committee would have been involved.

It is mainly in the events leading up to the reform of Parliament and to the incorporation of Birmingham that the presence of Dissenting

(1) AG.1.2.90; AG.10.12.92; AG.4.9-97; A.G.13.2.32. (2) Ibid. 24.12.92. schools 1 committee members is to be found. In 1812 a meeting of artisans was held, ostensibly in favour of repealing the Orders in Council, but also, as R.B. Rose suggests, to test the possibilities of workers meeting for political ends. The chairman of this meeting was a committee member of the Unitarian Old Meeting Sunday schools.^ ' Among the members of the Hampden Club in Birmingham was William Hawkes Smith, the

'chief advocate of social thought in Birmingham*

(2) and a committee member of the New Meeting Sunday schools. ' In 1817 an unsuccessful request was made to the High Bailiff for a town meeting to be called to discuss the need for Parliamentary reform. Following his refusal, a group of men called a town meeting to be held on Newhall

Hill; of the forty eight who signed this call six were committee members of Dissenting schools considered above. ' In 1819 following the

Peterloo massacre a subscription was raised for the victims. The "father" of the Unitarian Sunday schools, James Luckcock, wrote to Aris 1 Gazette defending the fund, and in doing so echoed the views of many dissenters. ' The efforts for reform were largely led, both nationally and locally, by the Birmingham Political Union. This was formed in January 1830 and among its first Council of thirty six members were two members of the Unitarian

Sunday Schools' committees, and six who had close relations serving on committees. In May 1832 following Earl Grey's resignation and the abandonment of the Reform Bill, many of the "middle classes" who had not

(1) R.B. Rose, •Political History to 1832', The Victoria . County History of Warwick, Vol.VII, p.286; AG.22.6.12.

(2) G.J. Holyoake, Sixty Years an Agitator's Life, 2 vols (1900), Vol.1, pp.48-9 and 60.

(3) AG.20.1.17. Of these 6, there were 5 Unitarians and 1 Wesleyan.

(4) Ibid., 27.9.19. - 110 - previously joined the Birmingham Political Union resolved to do so

'for the purpose of promoting the further union, order and determination of all classes in support of the common cause of Parliamentary Reform. 1 (l)

Of the 275 signatures, 59 were of committee members from dissenting schools (2) considered above. x ' Dissenters later became involved in pressing for incorporation of the town, and the first Town Council had fifteen Dissenting schools' committee members among its sixty four members.

This chapter has concentrated on identifying the social origins, occupations and political backgrounds of those men involved in the management of schools through their committees. This does not, however, fully reveal their views and attitudes. Neither does it show the way that they put their ideas on schooling into practice. To see what their views were, how they were put into effect, and with what success, it is necessary to examine the processes of development of the various Anglican and Dissenting schools already considered.

(1) Ibid., 14.5-32.

(2) Of these 59, there were 39 Unitarians, 9 Carrs Lane Independents, 7 Quakers, 2 Catholics, and 1 Wesleyan. - Ill -

CHAPTER 4

TRENDS IN PROVISION ; 1781-1804

(The Sunday School Movement)

'. . . respecting the Institution of Sunday Schools / * it was Resolved that such a scheme be now promoted. . . ' '

The tables and figures in Chapter 2 showed several distinct trends in schooling provision during the period 1781-1804. Perhaps the most notable of these was the introduction and development of Sunday schools by both the Established Church and Dissent. This was a new initiative in the forms of educational provision. Prior to the 1780's schooling had been very selective in nature, either with parents selecting the private schools which their children would attend (be they dame, superior or public schools), or by working class children being selected as "chosen

objects" of philanthropy for places in Charity schools. The new Sunday schools aimed for a wide coverage of all poor children and thus differed greatly to selective schooling.

The first section of this Chapter considers the formation of Sunday schools in Birmingham. It has been suggested that Sunday school formation throughout England was generally the result of Anglican-Dissent (2) co-operat'ion, and the same has been argued for Birmingham. v ' This latter assumption is questioned in the first section and the possibility of an

(1) New Meeting Minutes of the Vestry Meeting, 1788-1792, (Manuscript), 23.1.88. Hereafter NMVN. In Church of Messiah, Vol.123. BRL. Archives.

(2) M.G. Jones, The Charity School Movement, (Cambridge 1938) pp.142-154; R.A. Soloway, Prelates and People; Ecclesiastical Social Thought in England, 1783-1852,(1969), p.359;T.W. Laqueur, Religion and Respectability; Sunday Schools and Working Class Culture, 1780-1850, (Yale 1976), p.27. - 112 -

Anglican control over the foundation of the schools is considered, as

well as the reasons behind the complete Anglican-Dissent break in 1786.

Splits between Anglicans and Dissenters in Sunday schooling were

nationwide, and it has been suggested that this was because of religious

and political differences. ' It does seem possible that ideological

differences between the groups were responsible for increasing the diff­

iculties of co-operation. The second and third sections of this Chapter

consider in turn the ideologies of Anglicanism and Dissent, and examine

the implementation of these in the schools. It is interesting to note

that Sunday school development occurred at a time when the "authorities"

were coming under increasing pressure. The possibility that the growth

of Radicalism and Rational Dissent, the effects of the French Revolution,

and the impact of government repression in the 1790's affected the views

of providers and the nature of schooling that they provided is also examined.

The statistics of Chapter 2 also revealed the disparity in the

development of Sunday schooling between Anglicans and Dissenters. The

final section considers this disparity and attempts to explain the differing

response of the working classes to the Sunday schooling provided for them.

The formation of Sunday schools nationally, as suggested above, was

often the result of co-operation between the denominations; it also (2) represented a coalition of the dominant classes in its governing structure. x

(1) Jones, Charity School, pp.153-4; Laqueur, Sunday Schools, pp.70-71, here Laqueur notes the possibility that original formation may not have been fully interdenominational as he suggested earlier; W.R. Ward, Religion and Society in England, 1790-1850, (1972), pp.12-16.

(2) Richard Johnson, 'Notes on the schooling of the English working class 1780-1850 1 , in Schooling and Capitalism; A sociological rerder,(1976), p.45. - 113 -

Examples of inter-denominational co-operation are considerable. The

"Society for Establishment and Support of Sunday Schools in the Different

Counties of England" formed committees composed half of churchmen and half of Dissenters. The Sunday schools in Manchester, formed at the same time as those in Birmingham, were part of a joint Church of England and (2) Dissenting effort. This seems to have been the pattern repeated elsewhere in the country, particularly in the larger towns.* '

In Birmingham it seems that the position may have been different and that from the very beginning the Sunday schools developed with a denomin­ ational character. It must be remembered that there are no early committee lists extant of the Birmingham Sunday schools formed in 1?84 with which to prove this point. Much of the evidence that is available though, suggests that Sunday schools in Birmingham commenced either as a purely Anglican venture or with a very heavy Anglican bias. Although James Luckcock, a prominent Unitarian Sunday school promoter, noted that Sunday schools in Birmingham were

•begun jointly .... by Churchmen and Dissenters (4)v

he did not say what role the Dissenters played or what positions they held. The inaugural meeting to consider the formation of Sunday schools in Birmingham was attended by twenty five gentlemen who became the first subscribers. A consideration of these original subscribers, their occupations, other committee commitments, or positions of authority which

(1) Barnard, English Education, p.9-

(2) Wadsworth, 'Manchester Sunday Schools', p.299- (3) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.26.

(4) James Luckcock, Moral Culture, (1817), p.264. - 114 - they held, suggests they were almost all Anglicans. Six of the town's

Anglican clergy were involved, but there were no representatives of the

Dissenting clergy. There were seven who were Governors of the King

Edward Free Grammar School, as well as the headmaster, and ten of the founding group were members of the Blue Coat School committee - either in

1784 or soon afterwards. Both of these schools only had Anglicans on their committees. Two of the group became High Bailiff - an Anglican sinecure - and of the rest unaccounted for in other ways, six were Anglican

Church or Chapel wardens. Out of the twenty five initial subscribers only two had no strong Church of England connection, and neither of them had known connections with Dissent. '

It is clear that the Church of England was strongly represented in

the formation of Birmingham Sunday schools, but the question remains as

to why there were no prominent Dissenting names on the first list of

subscribers. The meeting to form the Sunday schools was an open meeting (2) advertized in Aris's Gazette, v ' and therefore it might be expected that

Dissenting names would be on the first subscription list. This assumes

that Dissenters were not averse to Sunday schooling - the following years

proving this assumption. The lack of prominent Dissenters is thus something

of a mystery. It is possible that the solution may lie in the condition

of inter-denominational relationships, particularly in the characters of

the clergymen who were most prominent in the institution of the Sunday

schools, and of these, especially the Reverend Charles Curtis, rector

of St. Martins.

(1) A.G. 12.7.84. This issue lists the 25 original subscribers. The breakdown given here adds up to more than 25 as several men ;:ere both King Edward's Governors and Blue Coat committee members.

(2) AC. 5.7-84. - 115 -

The Eeverend Curtis vras undoubtedly prejudiced against Dissenters.

A story concerning Curtis, though probably apochryphal, nevertheless illustrates the impression he created. When asked why he had refused to bury a Dissenter he replied,

'It's a great mistake; I would be willing to bury them all. 1 (l)

More reliable proof of his dislike of Dissenters was seen during the (2) years 1785-87 in a furore which concerned the Birmingham Library. '

There was a heated debate in the library concerning the proposed purchase of a book by the minister of the New Meeting of Unitarians in Birmingham, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Priestley. Curtis and several other Anglicans were strongly opposed to the purchase, and Priestley, himself, voted against buying the book. The committee decided to purchase, at which decision

Curtis and two other clergymen (Revs. Shipley and James) resigned. All three were founder members of the Sunday schools. A pamphlet discussion of the affair followed, including one entitled "A Letter to Dr. Priestley

.... by Somebody". It has been described as

'one of the most uncharitable and unchristian tracts ever written .... (being full of) .... sanctimony and animosity, conveyed in a style the most arrogant, scornful, and self complacent. 1

It was later attributed to the Revd. J. Glutton, another of the six clergy­ men, who helped found the Sunday schools. ' If this incident reflects

(1) Henry Manton, Alderman Manton's Reminiscences, (in Birmingham Weekly Mercury), collected in Newspaper Cuttings, Birmingham Reminiscences, Macmillan Collection 1843-1906, p.2. This story was also told (by M.D. Hill) about Curtis' curate, Rev. Dr. Croft, another noted anti- Dissenter. See J.A. Langford, A Century of Birmingham Life, 2 vols, (Birmingham l86fi), Vol. 1, pp.498-99- (2) The Birmingham Library was a subscription library formed in 1779- See Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol.1, pp.283-296. (3) William Matthews, A Sketch of the Principal Means Which Have Been Employed to Ameliorate the Intellectual and Moral Condition of the Working Glasses at Birmingham, (1830) pp.19-20. - 116 - the mid 1780's relationship between the Anglican and Dissenting clergy, it is perhaps less surprising that Dissenters kept away from the Sunday schools foundation meeting, if it was known that the local Anglican clergy were involved.

The Anglican clergy were wary of Dissenting moves towards toleration as well as the growth of radicalism, for they both seemed to be threatening to the status quo and Establishment. Both Curtis and the Reverend J.

Riland, the prime movers behind the Sunday school initiation, were firm in their belief of the need to preserve the social status quo. The Revd.

Riland, a man of strict Calvinistic views, ' was strongly anti-Radical.

He addressed a pamphlet to 'those who dread a Revolution in England' in which he argued the "Rights of God" as opposed to the "Rights of Man".

His argument was an assertion of the value of existing social relations.

'Human governments are derived from divine' thus the government of England is of God, 'They, therefore, who would overthrow our English Constitution (2) must overthrow God's. |V ' Riland, Curtis and their fellow clergy saw such intentions in the Dissenters, particularly the Revd. Joseph Priestley.

Although there was change in clergy personnel during the 1780's -

1790's, inter-denominational relationships seem to have altered little.

The Rev. Spencer Madan who replaced Rev. Newling at St. Philips soon proved to have a strong aversion to Dissenters. In 1789 Priestley wrote a pamphlet outlining the approach Dissenters needed to ensure the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. Many churchmen opposed this pamphlet and

(1) Rev. W.K. Riland Bedford, Three Hundred Years of a Family Living, Being a History of the Rilands of Sutton Coldfield, (Birmingham 1889), pp.122-23. nb. Rev. J. Riland was assistant to Rev. Henry Venn in Huddersfield 1763-1774.

(2) Rev. J. Riland, The Rights of God, occasioned by Mr. Paine*s "Rights of Man" and his other publications . . . . , (Birmingham 1792), 2nd Edition. - 117 - the notion of repeal. Spencer Madan was notable for attacking Dr.

Priestley in particular.

The views of the Anglican clergy were reflected in the political associations to which they belonged. Rev. Curtis was a founder committee X member of the "Birmingham Association for the Protection of Liberty and

Property against Republicans and Levellers" to which three other leading (2) Anglican clergy belonged. v ' Two years earlier in 1790 Curtis and Madan, as well as other clergy, had signed a county petition protesting against the possibility of a repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. ' The clergy also had connections with the local militia and volunteers. ' This evidence of attitude is from the period after the formation of Sunday

schools, but it seems unlikely that their views had changed radically since 1784.

In considering the tenor of inter-denominational relations, consider­ ation must be given to the "Priestley Riots" of 1791. The build up to these was in the struggle for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts.

The riots although not caused by religious animosities alone, as Priestley

suggested, were no doubt aided by the attitudes of the Anglican clergy.

R.B. Rose's authoritative study of the riots notes that

'the Anglican clergy in Birmingham did little to allay . . . (the) ... suspicion 1 of their complicity. v ' Animosity to the Dissenters was seen here in the

(1) J. Priestley, Autobiography of Joseph Priestley, (Bath, 1970), p. 27; introduction by Jack Lindsay. (2) VCH, Warwicks, Vol.7, p. 283. The others being Revs. Croft, Madan and Burn.

(3) AG. 1.2.90.

(4) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol.2, pp. 186-7.

(5) R.B. Rose, 'The Priestley Riots of 1791 ', Past and Present, No.l8, (I960), p. 84. - 118 - extreme, and was one of the reasons for the riots.

In asking why Dissenters were not prominent in the founding of Sunday schools, it does not seem unreasonable to see the inter-denominational hostility as the cause of the Dissenting absence. One can reconcile

Luckcock's statement that Dissenters were involved in the Sunday schools for they would have undoubtedly subscribed to the venture as a philanthropic gesture without necessarily working at committee levels with the Anglicans.

The subscription list to the Sunday schools for 1791 has survived and does contain some Dissenting names; ' yet the formation of Sunday schools in Birmingham showed an immediate denominational control and direction by the Anglicans. Prom the very beginning in Birmingham there was a situation of denominational rivalry, and this was clearly seen in the opening years of the Sunday schools.

The formation of Sunday schools that were Anglican, in all but name, to cater for the whole community, was bound to cause problems with

Dissenters who did not want their children taught Anglican beliefs. This situation was embodied in Eule X of the Sunday schools which stated

'That the Scholars in each district, with their respective Teachers, go to Church, or Chapel, both Morning and Afternoon. 1 (2)

The chapels referred to here were the Anglican chapels attached to the

"mother" parish churches. ' The effect of this ruling was that the

(1) Report of Sun. Schools, 1791. Subscriber list at the end. (2) AG. 12.7.84. (3) Laqueur interprets this reference to "chapels" as meaning the Dissenting chapels, but this seems unlikely, for in the Sunday school annual reports for the years after the split (i.e. 1787-1826) frequent refer­ ences are made to the Anglican 'Churches or Chapels 1 ; Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.70, note 27. Here he italicizes for emphasis "or", giving it undue significance. See quote in this chapter from footnote above. See also; R.K. Dent, The Making of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1894), P.172. - 119 - children of Dissenters, if they wished to make use of the schools, had to attend Anglican worship.

This state of affairs obviously created difficulties, and in March 1786 some Dissenters requested that the committee hold a meeting to consider altering the sixth and tenth rules. This would enable

'their Children to have the Privilege of going to their own Place of Worship, on the Sunday ... .'(l)

This was presumably agreed to by the meeting, though no report is made in following issues of Aris's Gazette. This "concorde", perhaps not surprisingly, did not last. In September at the following AGM the decision was rescinded, because several gentlemen

'threatened to withdraw their Subscriptions to the Sunday Schools .... (because of the change of rules) .... made at the Request of the Dissenters'.(2)

James Luckcock in describing this meeting, at which he was possibly present, noted that regarding the toleration clause

'The casting vote of the Chairman, was, however fatal to this measure.'(3)

The chairman of the meeting was the Rev. Charles Curtis.

It is quite possible that the Anglicans in positions of authority, even after the change of rules, made little effort to assimilate Dissenters into the schools. Such a supposition is given credence by part of the report detailing the rescinding of the rule change. The reported noted that the

(1) AG. 6.3.86.

(2) AG. 2.10.86.

(3) Luckcock, Moral Culture, p.265. - 120 - change of rules

•which the Dissenters themselves have not availed themselves of, and attended to as they engaged 1 (l)

should be revoked. There must have been a reason why Dissenters did not make use of the Sunday schools, when the rule effectively barring their participation was removed. It must be a strong possibility, bearing in

mind the dislike between leading Anglican clergy and the Dissenters, that

the reason lay in continuing religious and political antagonism manifested

through the schools. Thus the so called "joint" venture came to an end

and the reality of denominational Sunday schooling came into the open.

This clear division predated other inter-denominational splits by several (2) years. '

II

The split in the Sunday schools was caused by a difference of social

and religious aims and philosophies between Anglicans and Dissenters.

This difference was clearly marked in the nature of the schools controlled

by these groups. This section considers the schooling provided by the

Anglicans and relates this to the prevailing Anglican ideology.

The basis of the Anglican ideology lay in their view that the position

of the Anglican church as the Established Church of the state was of prime

importance. The Anglican church was the embodiment of the hierarchical,

divinely ordered, Anglican led society, the continuance of which was

another major part of Anglican ideology. In this society duty and

submission to God and to social superiors was a natural and essential

part. Social obedience was equated with religious obedience as the religious

(1) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol. 1, p.417-

(2) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, pp.71-73- - 121 - and social-political authorities tended to be as one. Anglican supremecy was the essential; Dissenters were tolerated, not by any right, but through the grace of Anglicans. '

By the 1780*s it was clear to many in the Anglican establishment that society was changing. There was an upsurge of religious opposition to the Establishment, an increase of rational Dissent and Methodism, and

evidence of growing political liberalism. Apart from these changes and

developments of a more philosophical nature, there were also the physical

changes in social life. An increasing population, changes arising from

developments in industry and agriculture as well as upheavals caused by

the spread of enclosures. These all posed problems for the established

Anglican social supremacy. Anglican social conservatism demanded that

these challenges be met. In particular, society needed defending against

free thought and religious "ignorance", as this was likely to cause social

and political unrest. Bishop Pretyman warned in 1789 that anyone who

•by his words or by his actions, weakens the particular form which is duly established and justly administered in the community of which he is a member, sins against the ordinance of God. 1 (2)

After 1793 and the development of the French Revolution, reform was being

condemned as sedition. As V.G. Kiernan has shown, loyalty, conservatism and Christianity became identical; as Bishop Porteous noted,

(1) For Anglican ideology see Soloway, Prelates and People; G.F.A. Best, Temporal Pillars, Queen Anne's Bounty, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and the Church of England, (Cambridge 1964).

(2) G. Pretyman, A Sermon Preached Before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal . • . . January 30, 1789, (1789).Quoted in Soloway, Prelates and People, p.26. - 122 -

•Those who are hostile to the British constitution, are almost always equally hostile to the Christian revelation. 1 (l)

The surviving evidence relating to the various Anglican schools of this period, day and Sunday, provides much information on the nature of schools and the philosophies on which they were based. It is important to note that in the various school rules, reports, regulations, etcetera, concern for the moral and spiritual welfare of the children is almost always expressed in terms of order, discipline, duty, and humble submission before established authority.

This expression of concern was seen in the new Sunday schools. The

Rev. Riland wrote in 17^5 that one of the arguments in favour of Sunday schools was that the children acquired

'a better behaviour, in a moral, becoming, and obedient carriage to those above them.' (2)

The need for the poor to maintain this respectful behaviour and reverence for the laws of the land was emphasized particularly during the mid 1790*s, when government action against radicals and others involved in political activity was forceful and repressive. The Birmingham Sunday school r,eport

(1) V.G. Kiernan, 'Evangelicalism and the French Revolution 1 , Past and Present, No.l, (1952), p.45. Kiernan is quoting from Bishop Porteous 1 "Charge . . . 1799". (2) Detailed evidence of the early Birmingham Sunday schools does not seem to have survived. The evidence quoted here is taken from a sermon published in 1785 which extolled the virtues of Sunday schools: viz, William Jesse, The Importance of Education, (Kidderminster 1785). Part of this publication is an appendix containing the rules of the Birmingham Sunday schools with appended notes. The appendix was written by "Rev. R." As the rules are those of the Birmingham Sunday schools and the notes are written in the first person plural - "we give common prayer books to some scholars to bring to church 1 - it seems a reasonable assumption that "Rev. R" was Rev. Riland, the chairman of the Birmingham Sunday schools in 1785> the year of the pamphlet's publication. - 123 - for 1795 noted that this was

'a period when the great Duties of Obedience to God and of respectful Submission to the Magistrate, cannot be too assidously inculcated, or too deeply impressed on the Minds of our Youth,' (l)

The organisation of the various schools associated with the King

Edward's Free Grammar School reflected a system of social classification.

The Free Grammar School with its traditional "classical" curriculum was very much the preserve of the middle classes. This is seen in the minutes of the Governors with the naming each year of the exhibitioners. Very

frequently they were the sons of the leading members of Birmingham society, and sometimes the sons of merchants and manufacturers from London or elsewhere,

The "English school" department of the Free Grammar School was of a lower

social level but was not readily available to the children of the poor,

and there was a certain amount of transfer possible between the two. That

there was a considerable difference of intake between these departments

and the "small" schools, there can be little doubt. An order of the

Governor's respecting Llr. Kimberley's writing school, part of the main Free Grammar School noted

'that the Boys under Mr. Kimberley's tuition .... being of a different description to the Boys Educated in the Small Schools nothing will be allowed by the Governors for pens and ink. 1 (2)

This contrasted with the situation in the small schools where it ordered that

'the Masters of the Small Schools shall not be allowed to charge the Parents of the Pupils for Stationary.'(3)

(1) AG. 12.10.95.

(2) G.O.R. 14.11.98.

(3) G.O.R. 22.7.93. - 124 -

The organization of these King Edward's schools reinforced the view of a hierarchical society which was subscribed to by the governing Anglican body.

The recognition and acceptance of a hierarchical society of differing ranks and orders was an integral part of the Anglican ideology. Bishop Yorke outlined in a sermon in 1777 how God's creation of an ordered universe meant that

'some are of a superior species, and more distinguished texture; whilst others are formed of coarser and more and more ordinary materials.' (l)

Similarly, Bishop Bagot in 1788 described how God had created man with all the

'various distributions of rank, wealth, power . . . .'(2)

This recognition of a hierarchial society was seen in the method used for obtaining pupils for the various schools. The Anglicans for both existing day and the newly founded Sunday" schools relied on the well- established eighteenth century philanthropic use of patronage. Subscribers of two guineas to the Anglican Sunday schools could recommend four children to the schools, those of one guinea two children, and half a guinea one child. ' Patronage was also used in the day schools by both the Blue Coat and King Edward's organizations. Such a system obviously increased the control of committees over their schools. In the King Edward's schools

(1) J. Yorke, A Sermon Preached In the Cathedral Church of Lincoln On Opening the New County Infirmary, (Lincoln 1777) P*5»Quoted in Soloway, Prelates and People, pp.59-60. Bishop Yorke was related to Rev. and Hon. G.M. Yorke, Rector of St. Philips in Birmingham,1844-76. (2) L. Bagot, A Sermon Preached in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul . . . . June 5, 1788, (1788) pp.V-5. Quoted in Soloway, Prelates and People,p.23. (3) AG. 6.9.84. - 125 - there was a noticeable emphpsis on subscriber patronage which reappeared in the 1790's, a period of increased governor activity. The formation of the Shut Lane evening school in 1790 noted that children were

'to be recommended by the Governors 1 . '

Earlier in 1790 one of the new "small school" masters was offered an increase in salary, provided that he only taught Governor—recommended (2) children. Similarly, Mr. Kimberley of the Writing School received an extra £30 per year for giving up 16 scholars he taught 'on his own account 1 and teaching only those who were Governor-recommended. ' The whole

emphasis in this subscriber-recommended pupil relationship was that of patronage which in its own turn had the concomitant relationship of patronage-deference.

The changes in the nature of society during the second half of the

eighteenth century, as already suggested, created problems for the assured

continuence of the Anglican supremecy. The rise in population, particularly

in town growth, and the inadequacy of the forces of law and order to deal

with it inevitably led to a threat to established social ideals. The

late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century saw

f an upsurge of crime which was the fruit of a society in rapid transition 1 . (4)

The "Authorities" met this threat with attempts to improve the morals

and levels of behaviour of the "lower orders". By doing this they hoped

(1) G.O.R. 13.8*90.

(2) G.O.R. 26.5.90.

(3) G.O.R. 13.8.90.

(A) J.J. Tobias, Crime and Industrial Society in the Nineteenth Century, (1972), p.42. - 126 -

to exercise some control over the social "behaviour of the populace.

The 1790 f s and early l800's saw the growth and spread of many different

societies, often formed by Evangelicals, which were aiming for this moral

improvement. V.G. Kiernan has suggested that this was the reaction of

a society seeking moral renovation as a way to lessen the tensions it was

feeling/ 1 '

The Anglican elite in many places felt that this 'moral renovation' would come about if the young could be brought into contact with the Church of England'. Sunday schools were often suggested as a means of improving

morals and behaviour:

'The present degraded State of Morals amongst the Children of the Poor, in Birmingham, calls more loudly than ever for the Extension of Sunday Schools.(2)

The Sunday Schools' Rule XIV ordered that all subscribers, school visitors, church wardens and their sidesmen

'pay what Attention they can to the Streets and Environs of the Town, in order to prevent People idling about, and playing on the LORDS DAY.' (3)

There was considerable stress laid on the effect of bad examples of behaviour in the streets, such as the last statement sought to erase. The Blue Coat School consciously aimed at overcoming this for its children; the "design" of that school was that children might be

'rescued from the contagion of bad examples, and placed in a situation the most friendly for implanting in them the principles of piety and virtue . . . .« (4)

(1) Kiernan, 'Evangelicalism . . . .', p.52.

(2) AG. 16.10.97-

(3) AG. 12.7.84.

(4) Blue Goat, Short Account, 1806. - 127 -

Much of the argument for improving morals and behaviour revolved around the use of the Sabbath Day. Rev. Riland claimed the advantages of Sunday schools were that they kept the children away from profanity and neglect of the Lord's Day. They -would ensure that children were in the "House of God" every Sabbath rather than out on the streets in idleness and depravity. As far as protecting the sanctity of the

Sabbath Day and keeping children's behaviour in check, the time spent in school was a dominant factor. The winter attendance was from 8 a.m. until the end of Divine Service in the morning, and in the afternoon from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. In summer the children attended both services in (2) church and returned to school in the evening. v ' The Sunday scholars had little time during the day when they might

'have contracted many vicious habits'.(3)

The Sabbath was to be used for improving morals and conveying religious instruction. Rule VIII of the Anglican Sunday schools embodied that principle.

'That nothing whatever be taught in the Schools but what is suited immediately to the Design of the Sabbath Day and preserving young People from Idleness, Immorality, and Ignorance. (4)

The third Annual Report of the Sunday schools extolled the advantages the children received, and noted that they had attended church regularly, been catechised, and had a deficiency in religious instruction made good.

(1) Jesse, Importance of Education, Appendix. (2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4) AG. 12.7.84. - 128 -

The report concluded,

'These great and urgent Motives must speak for themselves, and we trust that the Prospect of continuing to instil gradually into the minds of youth the best Principles and .... rendering the most essential Service as Members of Society by the Improvement of their Understanding . . . •will .... induce the Public to patronise .... the Schools. 1 (l)

The plea for support of Sunday schools illustrates the providers' desire for their success, and if possible increase. These Anglican providers wanted, if possible, to get all the children into their Sunday schools so that not only would they become attached to the Church of

England, but also there would be a means of access-influence to the parents,

The providers could see there would be a cumulative benefit and spread from their schools with the turn-over of children. The 1796 report commenting on a drop in subscriptions which it felt was partly due to a lack of a startling and immediate improvement, noted a disappointment among subscribers. It felt this prejudice was unfounded and commented that Sunday schools were

'an Institution for the rising Generation and for Posterity .... (and though) .... the Operations of Sunday Schools on the Morals of the most numerous and ignorant Class of Society be confessedly gradual, their Effect, with God's Blessing, will be certain, and in another Generation, we trust, universal'.(2)

Connected with the desire to get all children to the Church of England

Sunday schools was the grert emphasis on the importance of attendance.

Teachers, subscribers and parents were all encouraged to make sure that their children attended regularly. The rules of 17&4 provided that a register be called for each part of the day and

(1) AC. 8.10.87.

(2) AG. 4.10.96. - 129 -

•the absentees be enquired after, reproved, or excluded 1 , (l)

In 1803 the committee urged

'the absolute Necessity of a more regular and general At t endanc e'. ( 2 )

This emphasis on regular attendance was also to be found in the day schools,

The drawing master at the Free Grammar School complained of the non- attendance of some of his pupils, the Governors resolved to

•give such directions as they may conceive necessary to enforce the regular attendance of such pupils who are admitted under the jurisdiction of Mr. Barber.'(3)

While the Sunday schools were trying to attract more children there was a corresponding movement in the day schools. The 1790's was a period of expansion for the King Edward's schools. In 1790 a new small school was founded

'for the purpose of Instructing Fifty Boys in reading Writing and Arithmetic. . . .'(4)

This represented not just an increase of places but also a widening of the curriculum. The following month

'It being recommended to be of great Utility' this extension of curriculum from just reading was ordered for another (5) of the small schools. ' Over the next year this principle was spread

(1) AG. 12.7.84.

(2) AG. 10.10.03.

(3) G.O.R. 15.8.98. (4) G.O.R. 28.4.90.

(5) G.O.R. 26.5.90. - 130 - to the other small schools. A further extension of places for children of the poor in the King Edward's schools came in 1790 also, -when the master at Shut Lane was given a salary increase to pay for his running an evening school. Again, this spread to the other schools, almost doubling the numbers instructed in the small schools. '

A new departure in the small schools was their conversion to single sex schools. The schools at their foundation (l750 f s) had been mixed and taught by either men or women. After 1790 the schools were referred to as "Boys' Schools" and the teachers were all men. The girls of the town were not ignored for in 1794 the Governors resolved that

f a school be opened in some convenient part of the town for the Education of Forty Girls and that a proper Governess be appointed to instruct them 1

(2) and another girls school was started in 1801. '

The 1790's also saw the schools increasing in efficiency. The

Governors sacked two "small schools" teachers in 1790 because of 'repeated complaints of . . neglect* and another teacher was warned that if there was not improvement he too would be discharged. It also seems that greater care was taken over the appointment of teachers, for after 1790 only those who had previous teaching experience were appointed. The need to appoint a new Shut Lane teacher was reported in the Governor's minutes. They noted that

'proper Persons may have an Opportunity of Offering themselves .... such Candidates be desired to

(1) This is not reflected in the Figures in Chapter 2 as evening schools were not counted.

(2) G.O.R. 21.10.94; 9.12.01.

(3) G.O.R. 26.5.90.

(4) Tyson, Elementary Education . . K.E.S., p.44 - 131 -

deliver Specimens of their writing and Drawing together with Testimonials of their Character . . .'(l)

These moves did not just apply to the small schools for in 1792 complaints were made that Rev. Mr. Darwall's department in the Free School was being neglected because he took boarders - the Governors then made it illegal (2) for the Assistant Master to have boarders. '

The considerable activity during the 1790's in the King Edward's schools has been attributed by one historian of the small schools as evidence of the growing interest of the Governors in "education", both it 4 (3) qualitivelyx and quantitively.** ' This verdict tends to use "education" in a modern sense in terms of specific skills being imparted, whereas to the Governors in the late eighteenth century, education also involved and concerned the socialization of the children into an Anglican based society. It seems more likely that the increase in activity of the Governors and the expanding of their school network was aimed to bring more children within their sphere of influence, and to make that influence more pervasive at a time when there were considerable threats to special stability. In 1793 in stressing the role of teachers to the Free school it was ordered that •no person shall hereafter be appointed to the place either of the Chief Master, Usher, or Master's Assist­ ant, who will not engage to give the whole of his time to the Duties of such Place. That every such Master and Assistant be expected to attend in the Pew provided for him in Saint Martin's Church on Sundays.'(4)

This increase of Governor control, seen in the tightening definition

(1) G.O.R. 28.4.90.

(2) G.O.R. 4.3.92.

(3) Tyson, Elementary Education . . K.E.S., p.44.

(4) G.O.R. 24.5-93. - 132 - of the teachers' role, occurred during the period of government repression in the 1790*s. Also co-incidental with this was the devel­ opment of "Schools of Industry". These institutions employed poor

children in the making of pins or straw hats, in sewing and knitting,

and they provided some religious instruction, but little more. Such

schoolsy very similar to the workhouse, were formed in Birmingham in 1797'

As well as the industrial skills mentioned the children also learnt

'Duties .... to qualify them .... to become good and faithful servants, and useful Members of Society.' (l)

The similarity of these schools of Industry to workhouses was shown

in 1797? when the Guardians of the Poor established an "Asylum for the

Infant Poor." This asylum was to replace the farming of pauper children

out to nurse by building the equivalent of a school of industry for them.

The aim was to

'educate and train for the Infant Poor in Habits of Industry and Usefulness.'(2)

The Asylum Report for 1804 shows the beneficial effect of the Asylum,

'Their Habits of Industry produce a cheerful Subord­ ination, and render them more acceptable. . . .'(3)

The stress throughout these types of school was on "industry" and

"obedience", and was accompanied by frequent references to economy,

suggesting that Utilitarian ideas were infiltrating into the aims of the

authorities. This has been noted in the development of the prison system

in England, where the 1779 Penitentiary Act, in describing the effect

(1) AG. 7.12.01.

(2) AG. 17.7.98.

(3) AG. 19.11.04. - 133 - of imprisonment, could well be describing the effects of a school of industry, through its

'reforming the individuals and inuring them to habits of Industry.' (l) i-,ras The social conservatism of the Anglican providers/reflected in the curriculum offered in the Sunday schools, principally in the decision to teach reading only. Sunday school education, it has been argued, was actually regressive in that it only catered for reading - the teaching of writing and arithmetic being unacceptable, whereas previously in Charity (2) schools they were not. In fact the Sunday school rules promulgated in 1784 did not specifically exclude writing or arithmetic, although neither are mentioned. Rev. Riland, however, in his comments to the rules in 1785, added that 'No writing is taught 1 . ' Reading was the one skill which was to be imparted. Riland again;

'Children who cannot read at all, should be first admitted; and then such as can read a little. When they can read well they should leave the school to make room for others. f

The reading matter was very limited,

'Testaments are used, but not bibles .... Several proper reading-books may be had .... from the society in London for promoting Christian knowledge.'(4)

This is further evidence of the conservatism of the Anglican policy towards schools. Whereas the Dissenters allowed free access to the Bible, the

(1) U.R.Q. Henriques, 'The Rise and Decline of the Separate System of Prison Discipline', Past and Present, Ho. 54, (1972), p.65.

(2) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.352.

(3) Jesse, Importance of Education, Appendix. (4) Ibid. - 134 -

Anglicans felt it needed commentary and interpretation. To let the populace read the Bible without guidance was to endanger law and order, as Rev. A. O'Callaghan argued. ' As one historian has expressed it,

'The Bible, after all, without careful commentary, cannot be relied on to promote undiluted conservatism.(2)

There were many people who, after the events in France and the growing evidence of literate working class elements thinking and acting politically, were prepared to condemn Sunday schools as being impolitic, despite all the inbuilt limitations they had. In 1799 their feeling was reflected in falling subscriptions in Birmingham and their argument was reported in the annual report.

'The Children of the lower Classes must not be taught to read, or you expose them to the Arts of Men, who are labouring by their Writings to corrupt the public Sentiment, both in Politics and Religion.'(3)

The Anglican Sunday school committee conceded that some "friends of religion11 were genuinely alarmed, but in a condensed statement of their aims pointed out that

'Knowledge of their Duty to God and to their neighbour is the only End for which these Children are taught to read .... constant Care is taken to give them just Ideas on these most necessary Subjects.'(4)

The fears expressed by those opposed to the Sunday schools were used as arguments in favour of Sunday schools. The Sunday school committee

(1) Rev. A. O'Callaghan, The Bible Against the Church and State, (1817). Quoted in Kiernan, 'Evangelicalism. . . .' p.53. (2) Kiernan, 'Evangelicalism ....', p.53.

(3) AG.14.10.99- See Harold Silver, The Concept of Popular Education, (1965) pp.40-41. Silver notes a growing attack on Sunday schools in the mid 1790's on a national scale.

(4) Ibid. - 135 - noted in 1798, the year of the United Irishmen's rising,

'. . . . the shocking Detail of Mischiefs perpetrated in the Sister Kingdom by a neglected and ignorant Populace, presents to .... (our) .... Minds the Institution of Sunday Schools in a new and most interesting Point of Light.*(l)

They felt that Sunday schools by erasing religious ignorance could act as the stabilizer which would preserve Anglican supremecy. This view was clearly stated in part of the 1798 report;

'The Mischiefs of Insubordination arise not so much from the Arguments, the Arts, the Industry or Arms of the Insurgent, as from the religious Ignorance of a People . . by effectively shutting out the Authority of the Word of God (the only permanent Basis of Moral Principle) this Ignorance forges the Pike, and lifts the Arm of the Assassin and Rebel against his Neighbour, his Country, and his God! . . . (To avoid this) . . . is the simple Design and admirable Tendency of Sunday Schools." (2)

The expression of concern for the welfare of working class children was put in terms of discipline and humility before established authority, as the preceeding extracts show. The basis of this was the Anglican social ideology of an established spiritual and temporal hierarchy. It was a precept of this society that one should accept one's "God-given" status and be content with one's lot. Archdeacon Paley wrote his

"Reasons for Contentment" in 1781 which explained the need of the poor to be content, and the necessity of the rich fulfilling their social obligations. The wealthy must assist the poor, the contribution of whom was that they encouraged and inculcated virtue amongst the rich and within themselves. ' The Rev. S. Madan, rector of St. Philips, expressed

(1) AG. 15.10.98. (2) Ibid. (3) W. Paley, Reasons for Contentment Addressed to the Labouring Part of the British Public, (1972); Quoted in G. Kitson Clark, Churchmen and the Condition of England, (1973), p.7. - 136 - this view of submission to God's will in a pamphlet written in 1795.

'My duty towards God, is to love, honour, and fear him as my maker, my governor, and my judge .... I must therefore receive all his blessings with thankfulness, and bear all his punishments with patience and submission . . . .' (l)

The Anglican view held that the poor were not just to be submissive to God, but also to their social superiors. This, as Geoffrey Best has (2) shown, was a frequent subject for sermons from the Hanoverian pulpit.

In 1789 Bishop Pretyman reminded the House of Lords that

'subordination of ranks and the relation of magistrates and subjects, are indispensably necessary in that state of society for which our Creator has evidently intended the human species.'(3)

The lower orders, according to the view of the Anglicans should be humble, loyal and obedient. Bishop Horsley's view of those attempting to alter

society and its laws was that he

'did not know what the mass of the people in any country had to do with the laws but to obey them.'(4)

If change was to come to society then the Anglican view was that it must come from within the existing social organisations in an orderly and gradual fashion. It must not be forced by outside individual action.

Bishop Horsley in a sermon in 1793 explained how existing institutions

(1) Rev. Spencer Madam, 'My Dear Neighbours and Fellow Christians: An Address 1 , in William Villers, Admonition to those who seldom attend public worship, (Birmingham 1795)? under sub-heading "Self-Discourse". See also: Rev. Spencer Madan, The Duty and necessity of Humiliation Repentance and Self Reform; A Sermon Preached at St. Philips Church, (Birmingham 1795)•

(2) Best, Temporal Pillars, p.152.

(3) Pretyman, Sermon 1789« p.l6.

(4) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.63, quoting Cobbett, Parliamentary History, 30BXII, (1795), pp.2*57-8. - 137 - were the work of God, and how these institutions had within them the wish to serve the community as best they could. Horsley argued, as did

Burke, that if these institutions felt change was necessary then it would happen, from within, in an orderly, disciplined manner. The role of a

Parliament was to facilitate such changes, not inaugurate them. '

Anglicanism, although not meeting with extensive success in

Birmingham in the extension of its provided schooling, was nevertheless exerting considerable force in Birmingham education and society during this period, aiming for a greater success than it achieved. The strength of this Anglican effort came both from the Anglican church, the corner stone of Anglican ideology, as well as from the association between rural Anglicanism and the existing traditional/order^ this gave Anglicanism a particular appeal to conservative minds. Anglicanism was set in the predominant form of agrarian capitalism of the eighteenth century, the

"squarson", and the persistance of this system into the nineteenth century gave strength to the ideology. Additional strength also came to the Anglican position from its status as the Established Church, and from the fact that in this period of social uncertainty and upheaval many people looked to the Church of England as a source of stability as well as of social status.

It was this image of society and the manner in which it should be controlled which permeated Anglican thoughts when confronted with the various social problems of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The failure of Anglican efforts in Birmingham to gain a return which matched their efforts may well have been due to the fact that, although the Church of England was the bearer of the dominant ideology of the

(l) Samuel Horseley, A Sermon Preached Before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal .... January 30th 1793 . . . ., (1793) pp.1-10. Quoted in Soloway, Prelates and People, p.61. - 138 - dominant agrarian capitalist class, the Dissenting

'aggressive and successful Birmingham bourgeoisie'(l) exerted considerable influence and had much support from other sections of society.

Ill

Before the Sunday school initiative of 1?84> the Dissenters, outside the sphere of private education, were only supporting one school in

Birmingham, the Protestant Dissenting Charity School. This school had been founded in 1760 by the two Unitarian meetings for the maintenance and education of poor children of both sexes; it remained the only day school venture supported by Dissenters throughout this early period.

Dissenting activity had spread rapidly in the Sunday school field by

1804, however, as noted in Chapter 2. That these schools were based on a different social ideology from that of the Anglicans, there can be little doubt.

The social philosophy of Dissent differed from that of the Anglicans, although there were points in common. The Dissenters wished law and order to prevail, but not with the maintenance of an absolute Anglican hierarchy. They also recognized the existence of differing social ranks and orders in society, but unlike the Anglicans they were prepared to accept and encourage social mobility. Dissenters in general were more democratic and did not defer to the Anglican supremacy. They wished in particular to achieve the repeal of the "Test and Corporation Acts" and to assert a political and religious independence. Their philosophy

(l) Rose, 'Priestley Riots', p.84. - 139 - was reflected in the nature of the schooling which they provided. The emphasis in various aspects of the schooling rested more on freedom and self-determination than on the conformity and subordination of the

Anglicans. '

The philosophy of religious and political freedom held by Dissenters was put into practice at the Protestant Dissenting Charity School. This school, though organized and financed by Unitarians, was open to the children of all denominations. Parents had the right to send their children to other churches or chapels on a Sunday if they did not wish (2) them to attend the Old or Hew Meeting services. ' It seems likely that

this toleration was found in some of the Dissenting Sunday schools also.

The Cherry Street Wesleyan Sunday school rules only demanded that committee

members and Superintendents be Wesleyan Society members, it was not

necessary for pupils or teachers to be Wesleyans. ' The Cannon Street

Baptist school seemingly did not limit its membership to Baptists, but did

demand attendance of the children at Baptist worship. There is no information on the early years of Carrs Lane school, though the 1812

rules which noted that teachers had to be members of the Church or

Congregation and that the children had to attend 'public worship in the

Meeting', suggests a less tolerant approach than in the other Dissenting

schools.

(1) J.M. Goldstrom, The Social Content of Education 1808-1870, A Study of the Working Class School Reader in England and Ireland, (Shannon, 1972), pp.34-51.

(2) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. 7, p.526. (3) Rules of the Cherry Street Wesleyan Methodist Sunday Schools, (Birmingham, 18^0). These rules were based on those formulated in 1795• See Rules 5 & 11

(4) J.E. Hale, Gknnon Street Sunday Schools (now Grantham St) Birmingham. An Historical Sketch 1793-1895, (A Special Centenary Edition of the Mount Zion Messenger), (Birmingham 1895), p.3. (5) Minutes of Garrs Lane Sabbath Schools; July 181P-: arch 1843, (r.anuscript) 31-7-12. Hereafter: CL. Kins. These records housed at Birmingham Reference Library. - 140 -

The fullest information comes from the minutes of the Old and I'.ev

Meetings. These minutes suggest that initially both lleetings expected children to attend the religious services they held. The rules of the

Old Meeting Schools noted that after morning lessons the children were

'to be attended by the Master and Mistress to the Meeting. 1 (l)

The New Meeting minutes of 1791 thanked the Sunday School teachers for (2) their work and for going to prayer with the children in the evenings. '

In 1788 a girl left the Old Meeting school as her parents were

'desirous of her going to Church'.(3)

The tenor of the minutes recording this suggested that it was parent pressure which removed the girl, and not that the school wished her to leave as she was to go to Anglican worship. This freedom for worship certainly existed in the New Meeting's schools where there was no religious bar for pupils who were allowed to worship where they liked. '

The Dissenters, although wishing to alter their status and position in society, were conscious of its differing ranks and accepted them as an integral part of society. Much of the educational theory of Dissent looked to differing educrtions for different classes. Joseph Priestley was typical in addressing himself to

'persons of future rank and influence . . . (rather than) ... to low mechanics, who have no time to attend to speculations .... and who had, perhaps, better remain ignorant of them.(5)

(1) OMSS Mins. 22.4.87. (2) NMVI.I. 11.12.91. (3) OMSS Mins. 24.2.88. (/,) Herbert New, Centenary of the Church of the Messiah (formerly I.'ev: Meeting), Sunday Schools Sketch of the :iintor.y of the Schools fron their commencement in 178S, (Birmingham Icuc-), p.5. (5) Simon, Studies . . . 1780-1870, p.35- - 141 -

Priestley encouraged the need for general literacy and numeracy, but saw the main benefits of education coming to society through a well-educated middle class who would improve the position of the lower classes.

The views held and expounded by Priestley were put into practice during his years as Pastor of the New Meeting. The vestry minutes show that Priestley held a series of Sunday lecture classes for the young people of the congregation. These children were the children of a relatively wealthy and influential congregation - as names and pew rent

rates in the minutes reveal - and there was usually

'a very regular attendance by the Children of each Class.' (l)

Though Priestley presumably approved of the New Meeting Sunday schools,

as far as the minutes show he took no active part in them.

Although the Unitarians accepted class divisions, they attempted to

help the lower classes through schooling. They did not have a desire

to ossify the social structure, seeing it remaining but having a fluidity.

There was a definite distinction in the Unitarian schools between the

children of the congregation and the poor children. The Old Meeting

schools were for "poor children" as were the New Meeting's. In 1790 the

Old Meeting committee thanked some ladies of the congregation for making (2) caps and tippets for the girls, a common feature of charity school apparel.

The Baptist schools opened

'for the purpose of affording instruction to the poor and indigent youth•,

and their rules, formulated in 1803 acknowledged the class system:

(1) IJL1VM Mins. May 1789.

(2) OMSS I-:ins. 31.10.90. - 142 -

'No boy shall be admitted whose circumstances enable him to receive instruction with the superior orders of society.* (l)

Despite this acceptance of the social divisions of society, there was no attempt made in the Dissenting schools to put forward views of submission to the higher orders. Subordination and reverence of the social hierarchy receives no mention at all in the early records of Dissenting Sunday schools in Birmingham.

The emphasis in Dissenting schools was placed on the encouragement of attitudes which would benefit the soul of the individual, and this in the long run would benefit society as a whole. The attitudes to be encouraged were those in the nature of thrift, temperance and self-help, : and they were representative of a much more utilitarian approach than that (2) of the Anglicans. ' Perhaps the most outstanding example of this was the "Brotherly Society" run by the teachers of the Old and New Meeting Sunday schools. This was founded in 1?S9 as a means of continuing the instruction of those who had left the Sunday schools. Reformed after the Priestley Riots, it became known in 1796 as the "Brotherly Society" and it bore a close resemblance to the later Mechanics 1 Institutes. The Brotherly Society rules noted,

'The subjects for Improvement shall be Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Drawing, Geography, Natural and Civil History and Morals; or, in short, whatever may be generally useful to a manufacturer, or as furnishing principles for active benevolence and integrity. '(3)

The objects of this society also involved managing the sick club connected to the schools and providing the schools with teachers.

(1) Hale, Cannon St. SS., p.3.

(2) Goldstrom, Social Content, p.34. (3) Matthews, A Sketch, p.14. - 143 -

This emphasis on the more utilitarian aspects of schooling was, in general, reflected in the curriculum of the Dissenting schools. The

Anglican limitation of reading only was not followed by all Dissenters.

The Baptist schools taught reading, spelling and catechism to all pupils, and a third of the scholars learnt writing. In 1803 they established

"arithmetic schools" which were considered to be of great importance, though these were not to be held on a Sunday. ' It seems probable that the Cherry Street Wesleyans began to teach writing fairly soon after their schools were founded in 1795* When the question of teaching writing on the Sabbath was being discussed in 1838, their committee minutes commented (2) that this had been their practice 'for a long time'. v ' The Unitarian

schools during this period had a somewhat limited curriculum consisting of reading, spelling and catechism. As far as their minutes reveal there were no additions to the curriculum in this period. Other subjects were available at the Brotherly Society, however, to which a pupil might move having achieved a basic literacy in the Sunday schools.

The Dissenters, like the Anglicans, were very concerned that there was a strictness over attendance. The Old Meeting rules stipulated that

'Parents are on no Pretence whatever (except in Case of Sickness) to prevent the regular, constant Attendance of their children.'(3)

The minute books record admissions and expulsions, the latter frequently

for lack of regularity in attendance. The Old Meeting rules of 1790 noted that Parents and Guardians should

'use their best Endeavours to engage . . . (the children) ... to be Constant and attentive.'(4)

(1) Hale, Cannon St. SS., p.4.

(2) Cherry St. Mins., 16.11.38.

(3) QMSS Mins. 22.4.87.

(4) OMSS Mins. 31.10.90. - 144 -

A further rule noted that

'Three days absense shall be punished with exclusion (except plainly unavoidable) on no account to be remitted, but at the urgent request of the Parents."(I)

The amount of time devoted to Sunday schools was also similar in both

Anglican and Dissenting schools. Cannon St. Baptist schools started at (2) 8 a.m. from March to September, and 8.30 a.m. for the rest of the year. '

The Old Meeting schools' day ran from 8.00 a.m. to the end of morning

service (12.30 p.m. approx) and then from 2.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. during

the summer months, and in winter having the starting times at 9»00 a.m.

and 1.30 p.m. ' This'fell day" education and determination that it should

be strictly attended arose naturally from both philosophies. The

Anglicans wanted to control behaviour on the Sabbath and also bring all

children under their aegis while the Dissenters wanted to help "save the

souls" of children. A regular attendance at a Sunday school for most

of the Sunday would help both aims.

The Dissenting approach of trying to encourage self-improvement and

other aspects of participation by the recepients of their schooling was

part of the practice of their belief in freedom for the individual. Their

stance was far more "democratic" than the Anglicans, who saw in democracy

the ultimate social upheaval. The Unitarians in particular put this

belief into practice with the form of organization of their Sunday schools.

The Anglican form of a committee of prominent persons controlling the

schools and directing the teachers was not adopted. In the Unitarian

schools the school committee acted very much as the financial and organizational

department only, the running and direction of the schools was left in the

(1) Ibid.

(2) Hale, Cannon St. SS., p.3.

(3) OMSS Lins. 22.4.8?. - 145 - control of the teachers.

This format is clearly shown by the vestry and Sunday school committee minutes. The New Meeting Vestry committee in 1791 thanked the Sunday school committee for its good management of the schools, and also for aiding the young people who were instructing the children. ' The New

Meeting decided in 1792 to have a joint Vestry and Schools committee, the function of this was to

•Superintend the Accounts & Transactions of the Sunday Schools belonging to the Society.

From further minutes it would seem that the visitors to the school acted as a liaison between the teacher and the committee -

'it being represented by the visitors that a partition is necessary in one of the rooms occupied by the Sunday Schools . . . . (2)

The Old Meeting also incorporated Visitors as part of the organizational structure. The foundation rules stated that Visitors be appointed to

'observe that the Master and Mistress do their Duty; and be able to make a proper Report of the State of the Schools from Time to Time to the Committee 1 .

Visitors were felt to be of great value, it was ordered that it would be desirable if Visitors only continued in that office for one month

'In Order that as many as possible may be acquainted with the Nature, and interested in the success of the Institution.'

Although the Visitors were of the same standing socially as the committee, very often being actually on the Committee, the frequent interchange meant

(1) NMVM. 11.12.91.

(2) IIMSS Kins. 22.10.92; 8.12.02. - 146 - that the Teachers were the controlling factor for recommendations. The success of this method of teachers managing the schools with help from the Visitors was frequently confirmed in the Minutes.

'The Schools were now found to be in such a prosperous State from the attention and perseverance of the managers as not to require any interference of the Committee.'(l)

The years 1801-1803 in which the schools continued successfully were noted

in the minutes with a single favourable minute per year.

The democratic spirit of this form of organization meant that the

teachers of the schools, who were by and large the controllers of them, were of a different social class from the committee members. The

schooling tended to develop along the lines of working class teachers

providing for working class children. The 1804 report in the minutes of the Old Meeting gave a

'List of the Managers and Teachers in the Boys School - all of the latter having been brought up in the School and most of them enga.ged as Teachers gratuitously for several years with zeal and punctuality . . . .'(2)

The list quoted contains seventeen names of whom only four are traceable

in the directory for 1804, and of those, none of their trades implies a

high status or occupational level. It can be said, with a fair degree

of certainty, that the Old Meeting School was certainly run on democratic

lines with little direct control from the middle class providing committee,

The degree of self-government of the Old Meeting Sunday school is revealed in the minutes of 1790 when the new rules were formulated. The

second article noted that

(1) OMSS Mins. 22.4.8?; Ibid.; August 1797.

(2) OMSS Kins. 9.9.04. - 147 -

'the Suffrages of three fourths of the Scholars be necessary to each admission, the Visitors reserving to themselves the Power of obliging each one who gives a Negative Vote to assign his Reasons and they shall judge of their Propriety.'

Not only admission but also discipline was controlled by, or at least heavily influenced by pupil participation. Article 9 noted that

"111 behaviour, but especially at Meetings shall be punished with wearing a Cap, with the offence inscribed, till the majority shall be pleased to pardon it, subject however to the proviso in the Second Article.' (l)

These articles of organization bear a strong resemblance to the forms of organization adopted by the Hills at Hazlewood school a few years later.

This resemblance is further strengthened by the similarity of tickets for rewards based on monetary value which both organizations adopted. It is possible that the system adopted by the Hills and praised by Bentham originated in the Old Meeting Schools 1 organization. Thomas Wright Hill was a member of the New Meeting Sunday School committee and would be acquainted with the Old Meeting's system. It is quite possible that the New Meeting schools operated a similar system, but for this the evidence is lacking. Certainly the Unitarian Sunday schools offered a very different form of Sunday schooling from that of the Anglicans.

The extent of democratic control in the Wesleyan schools in

Birmingham in this early period is uncertain. The national Methodist

Annual Conferences, as Edward Thompson has shown, were

'forever professing their submission and their zeal in combating the enemies of established order 1 as well as promoting

(l) OMSS Mins. 31.10.90. - 148 -

'loyalty in the middle ranks as well as subordination and industry in the lower orders of society.'(l)

It seems, however, unlikely, that this viewpoint was held in Birmingham.

There were considerable differences within Methodism, not only between different factions (Primitive, New Connexion, etc.) but also between official and "grass-roots" Methodism. Information on the Cherry Street

Methodists is scant for this early period, but there is some evidence which suggests that Birmingham did not adhere to the views of the Annual

Conference. The stated design of the Wesleyan Sunday schools in

Birmingham when founded in 1795 was simply to enable the pupils

•to become good and useful members of religious and civil society 1

(2) through religious instruction and reading the Bible. v ' The teachers had a share of power on the Sunday school committee in the persons of

the Superintendents of the schools, usually about eight in number, who

were teachers, and two teacher representatives elected by the teachers.

The remainder of the committee was made up of the preachers of the circuit

and thirteen subscribing gentlemen of the congregation. As regards other

Dissenting schools in this early period, little is known of the methods

of running them. The Ebenezer school, formed in 1803 was one other which did have a teacher's committee exercising some power. '

It was not only in organization, curriculum and methods that clear distinctions between Anglicanism and Dissent were visible, but also in

(1) E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Glass, (1968),pp.385-6,

(2) Cherry St. Rules, 1840.

(3) H. Baker, and others, Centenary Celebrrtion 1803-1903. Historical memoranda relating to .... the Ebenezer Chapel, Steelhouse Lane - and the Sunday Schools and Institutionr; associated with it, (Birmingham 1903), pp.90 and 101. - 149 - the manner in which children were admitted to the schools. The Anglican system, as already mentioned, relied heavily on the well-established eighteenth century philanthropic use of patronage, subscriber recommendation being the method of providing pupils. Although the Protestant Dissenting

Charity School of 1?60 followed this patronage system, the developing

Dissenting Sunday schools stand out in marked contrast in their method of admitting pupils.

Most of the evidence in this early period up to 1804 is from the very complete minutes of the Old Meeting Sunday schools. It suggests that parental or pupil choice was the prime factor behind admission in contrast to the subscriber recommendation of the Anglicans. The earliest entries in the Old Meeting minutes relating to admission are found in a series of smaller pages inserted in the Minute book, and would seem to be the notes of the initial meeting. One page is headed 'List of Children

Proposed 1 , though it does not say how or by whom. A following page is headed

'Room for the Insertion of the Names of those who may apply above the Number 20 if for a time the Committee see fit to confine each school to that no.'

The implication here is that it was application rather than recommendation which was the manner of entry to the list of pupils. It seems likely that the first "List of Children Proposed" does not refer to recommended children but to children whose parents had put their names forward. The admission procedure was codified in the next two years, children being introduced into the schools by the Visitors, who had the ultimate powers of admission and dismissal. The minutes of January llth 1789 which confirmed the Visitors' powers did not define the methods they should use for admission; but nowhere, in any form, is subscriber reconv-endat i.on mentioned. A reformulation of rules in 1790 noted - 150 -

'That no Boy be admitted till after 3 Days trial; and the Parents and Guardians have personally pledged themselves to the Visitors that they will use their best Endeavours to engage them to be Constant and attentive.'

Here the stress lies on a parent-visitor contact as the element in admission. After the three days trial was over, the question of confirming admission was put to a vote by the pupils, with a three quarters majority necessary, as was mentioned earlier in this chapter.

It was also possible for pupils themselves to introduce new members for the schools. Rule 12 noted thr>t scholars who were due to leave could, if the vacancy was not otherwise filled, be 'the means of introducing another in his place . . . .'; this procedure was possibly encouraged for the rule also added that such pupils would be 'particularly noticed.'

Evidence as regards the nature of admission in the other Dissenting

Sunday schools is scarce, but that which survives tends to confirm the general pattern illustrated by the Old Meeting schools. It is more than likely that the New Meeting Sunday schools were on similar lines to those •% of the Old Meeting. It was resolved by the New Meeting vestry thr,t their (2) schools would be 'established upon the most liberal Plan . . . .' but few details of this have survived. In 1798 the minutes referred to the

'number of children applying for admission into the Sunday Schools' (3) suggesting that the spur to admission lay directly with parents and children. The Baptist, Methodist and Congregational schools have left little evidence of their methods of admission for this early period. The

Cannon Street Baptists noted that they would take as many boys as they

(1) OMS8 Mins. undated 1787; 31.10.90; Ibid, (2) mm. 23.1.88.

(3) NMSS Mins. 10.12.98. - 151 - could accommodate but no further details were recorded. Certainly there were no references in the Cannon Street, Carrs Lane or Cherry Street schools to subscribers recommending pupils as a means of choosing; scholars.

IV

The clear ideological differences between Anglicans and many of the

Dissenters, as outlined in the preceding sections, were reflected in the aims, organization, methods and curriculum of the differing schools.

Chapter 2 noted a disparity of success between the Anglican and Dissenting schools. It seems possible that the ideological backgrounds to the forms of schooling offered to the working class were important in affecting parental evaluation of them.

For the Anglicans, as Figure 3 showed, the formation of the first

Dissenting Sunday schools marked a turning point in their development.

From 1787 the support for and attendance at their schools gradually diminished. One of the first references to declining support came two years after the break with the Dissenters. The Annual Report noted attendance was as full as could be expected, considering the 'impediments which have arisen.' Further comment added that

'Discouragements will arise in the Prosecution of every Design for the Public Good.'(l)

In 1803 the committee complained about poor attendance, as they had done in the l801 report, and they urged

'the absolute necessity of a more regular and general attendance'.(2)

(1) AC. 2.10.89.

(2) AC. 17.10.03. - 152 -

The progress of Dissenting schools provided a marked contrast. By 1798 the New Meeting Sunday school was noting a lack of

'sufficient room to accommodate the number of children applying for admission 1 and in 1802 it was suggested that warehouses should be rented as they were

'sufficiently extensive to accommodate all the children of the Sunday Schools. ( (l)

A similar increase was recorded in the Old Meeting Sunday school minutes in 1789 when it was resolved that a new larger room was needed for the schools. This need was re-emphasised later in the same year when LIr. Kenrick recommended the use of a more commodious room. By 1801 the size of the school was limited because the number of children attending was

•as great as the house would admit 1 (2)

Of the other Dissenting schools the details of their growth are scarce, apart from odd references to their being "prosperous". Carrs Lane schools in 1793 hired extra rooms when their existing premises proved too small. Evidence of the growing Dissenting provision is found in the increasing number of notices in the local paper detailing sermons on behalf of specific Dissenting Sunday schools.

It might be argued that the differing success of Anglicans and Dissenters was caused by changes in committee personnel. Although, as Chapter 3 noted, details of Sunday school committees in this early period are not complete, there is sufficient evidence for consideration of this

(1) MS3 Mins. 10.12.98; 13.12.02.

(2) OKSS Mins. 11.1.89; 29.11.89; 20.9.01.

(3) H.F. Keep, 'The History and Teaching of Carrs Lane 1 , Transactions of the Congregational History Society, Vol.9, (1924-26), p.57. - 153 - proposition. As far as the Anglican committee was concerned there was a permanency in the leading committee positions. Between 1784-89 the chairmanship oscillated between the Reverends Curtis and Riland, and from 1789-1804 it was held by Rev. Burn of St. Mary's; the secretaryship for the whole of this period rested with a Mr. Doley. The clergy seem to have been a regular part of the committee, the 1805 report noting that they were automatic members of the committee. The rest of the committee was elected, but only one reference was made to the elections in the reports. In 1791 it was noted that elections took place 'according to annual custom.' ' The only other evidence of individual involvement on the Anglican committee was possibly revealed in the 1779 report which thanked

Theodore Price for a gift of books, and the report of 1800 which thanked (2) George Simcox for presenting Bibles. Both these men were involved in the 1784 foundation and had obviously continued their interest and involvement. It does not seem likely that the Anglican committee would have changed radically over this period.

The only Dissenting committee lists available for the years 1787-1804 are those of the Unitarian Sunday schools. These suggest a similar continuity of membership as seems to have been the Anglican case. The twelve member New Meeting Sunday school committee of 1804 contained seven members who had either served on the first committee or who had had immediate relations serving on it. Similarly the Old Meeting Sunday

School Committee showed a continuity of individual or family membership.

The committees of the other Dissenting denominations did not really have a long enough existence in this period for any significant changes in their membership to have taken place.

(1) AG. 10.10.91. (2) AG. 14.10.99; 13.10.00. - 154 -

The Anglicans were well aware of the difference between their level of success and that of Dissent in winning working class attendance.

They did not, however, see the reasons behind the Anglican decline lying either with themselves or in their schools. In the few reports where blame for non-attendance was assigned, it usually rested, as far as the committee was concerned, with parents. The 1803 Report attributed poor attendance to a

•criminal neglect on the Part of the Parents .... THIS is the chief Obstacle.' (l)

The 1801 report had previously noted that the mischief of non-attendance

comes from

•criminal negligance or Want of just Authority .... (by) .... parents.'

The committee also censured some of the influential persons of the town

for their lack of support, suggesting that encouragement from them would (2) to some extent make up for the weakness of parental support.

The vagaries of trade and employment were also blamed by the committee

as being causes of poor attendance. In 1796 they noted that Sunday school

expenditure had exceeded income, and this was attributed to the bad trade

over the previous four years, as well as to the amount of taxes and levies

raised. ' This resulted in a decrease in subscription and thus a

decrease in recommended children. The committee also noted in 1801 that

the children often excused themselves by explaining that

'their Masters and Mistresses employ them on the Sunday Morning.(4)

(1) AG. 10.10.03.

(2) AG. 19.10.01.

(3) AG. 24.10.96. (4) AG. 19.10.01. - 155 -

Certainly during the 1790*s there were continuous complaints of Sabbath breaking, because of the

'many Butchers, Hucksters, and others, .... (who) .... continue to exercise their Trades on the Lord's Day. 1 (l)

The possibility of children being employed on the Sabbath was very real.

In 1804 the committee reported the closing down of some Sunday schools because of the difficulty of keeping numbers to a viable level.

Again parents and influential people were the recipients of the blame.

There w$s a third, and new, reason assigned: other schools which taught wilting and accompts on Sunday. The committee noted

'that a large Proportion of those Boys, who have made the best Proficiency in Reading, and are consequently best prepared for religious Instruction, are induced to leave our schools by the Prospect of this Advantage. f (2)

that is, writing and accompts.

Certainly the reasons as offered by the Anglican committee may have

been affecting attendances to a certain extent. But, it would seem that

there was a deeper underlying cause, for the same "reasons" applied to

the Dissenters, and they were flourishing. Perhaps the answer as to why there were differences in the attendance levels lies in the nature of the relationship between the middle class leaderships and the working class clientele.

The main determinant as to whether a child attended school or not would most probably have been that of parental influence and attitude.

The parental and possibly pupil decision about attendance would depend

(1) AC. 26.10.98.

(2) AG. 8.10.04. - 156 - on their evaluation of what was offered and what the alternatives were.

The forms of schooling offered by Anglicans were noticeably different from those of some Dissenters by l804 5 the social character of the provision relating back to their distinct ideologies; and both of these differed again from the forms of indigenous working class schooling and culture. It is, perhaps, more specifically in the nature of these i alternatives that answers to the differing responses to the various forms of schooling are to be found.

The Anglican provision in Birmingham seems to have lacked an attraction for the working class clientele. As already mentioned, the concern of the providers for the working class child in these schools was stated in a language of authoritarian terms and expressions. The

Anglican schools were firmly linked to the "Establishment 11 and the

"Authorities" through both their governing personnel as well as the social nature of their provision. Such a background was unlikely to appeal to working class parents of Dissenting or Radical sympathies.

By 1804, as well as the section of the working class that was attached to Dissent, it seems likely that a considerable number of the Birmingham working class were of Radical sympathies. R.B. Rose has suggested that the "Church and King" mob of the eighteenth century in Birmingham changed its outlook during the years 1793-1798, becoming the basis of nineteenth- century radicalism in the town. It is interesting to note that the

'revolution in the sympathies and loyalties of the Birmingham "lower orders" in the 1790's.'(l) more or less coincides with the marked decline of "lower order" attendance at the Anglican Sunday schools.

(l) R.B. Rose, 'The Origins of Working Class Radicalism in Birmingham 1 , Labour History, (Nov. 19&5) pp.10-13. - 157 -

The Dissenting Sunday schools, on the other hand, seem to have offered in general a form of schooling closer to working class needs and demands, to which they seem to have responded. Certainly the Dissenters tended to have closer links to the working class than did the Anglican church. The Baptists and Methodists had strong support from the working class, partly due to the form of community sense that groups like the

Methodists offered to the growing industrial population. ' Undoubtedly, schools like those of the Unitarians with working class teachers, greater possibilities of extending the curriculum and a large measure of democratic control, would be much more attractive to the working class and this was reflected in their growth and attendance rates. Even though Dissent was attracting considerable numbers to Sunday school by 1804, it was still only a minority of the working class child population that attended.

It must be borne in mind when considering the question of parental evaluations of the different forms of schooling, that there were alternatives which lay outside the scope of provided education. Apnrt from the possibilities of sending children to private schools of various sorts, there was another alternative. This lay in letting children gain

"education" in the old traditional way, through the informal absorbtion through experience of the existing working class culture.

Although detailed evidence of the oral uorking class culture in late eighteenth century Birmingham is limited, there is sufficient to show (2) that there was a general thriving working class culture, v ' some of which would have formed an integral part of the lives of most children. This

(1) Thompson, Making, p.417.

(2) John Money, 'Taverns, Coffee Houses and Clubs: Local Politics and Popular Articulacy in the Birmingham Area, in the Age of the American Revolution 1 , Historical Journal, Vol. XIVI, (l97l)> - 158 - culture also manifested itself in sports, past-times and entertainments involving both adults and children. These are well known and need no amplification here.^

One major aspect of working class culture at this time was the observance of "Saint Monday", which, as Douglas Reid has shown, met with (2) considerable opposition from the dominant bourgeoisie. ' A contemporary poem on "Saint Monday" illustrates the difficulties faced by schools in trying to get regular attendance. The poem noted how on Mondays, school-boys would get together

Far from the precincts of the School to trip, To rob an orchard, or a bird's-nest strip: Or, with whatever sport may meet their way, By means far wide of study spend the day.(3)

This tradition carried on well into the nineteenth century; in 1823

Aris's Gazette noted that a radical political meeting was

'Preceeded and followed by a great number of boys and girls who usually crowd our streets on the afternoon of a Monday. 1 (4)

The working class of Birmingham seem to have had a rich oral tradition although not as much of it seems to have survived in recorded form as in

(l) For studies of working class leisure see R.¥. L'alcolmson, Popular Recreations in English Society 1700-1850, (Cambridge 1973); Conference Report, 'The Working Class and Leisure 1 , Bulletin of the Society for The Study of Labour History, 32, (1976); Brian Harrison, 'Religion and Recreation in Nineteenth-Century England 1 , Past and Present, No. 38, (1967). (2) Douglas A. Reid, 'The Decline of Saint Monday 1766-1876', Fast and Present, No. 71, (1976). I should like to thank Doug Reid for sharing his knowledge of working class leisure activities in Birmingham, and for several ideas gained in discussion. (3) George Davis, Saint Monday; or, Scenes from Low-Life, (Birmingham 1790), p.vi.

AG. 21.7.23. This group would also have included working children. - 159 - the neighbouring Black Country. There is surving evidence of working class political song, often from the pen of John Freeth, a Birmingham working class publican. His songs

'reflected the ideas and aspirations of ordinary people in a clear and immediate fashion.'(l) and would probably have been known by many children. These songs expressed aspects of the working class view, often at odds with "official" Anglican ideology and culture.

Commercial concerns in all kingdoms we know, Like the tide of the ocean will ebb and will flowj But state-craft and priest-craft, if people are uise, When brought to a level will never more rise. (2) The existence of children's songs, rhymes and counting games in England from this period is well recorded, though little from Birmingham has seemingly survived. Undoubtedly rhymes and catches were sung by local children, some traditional and some part of a spontaneous culture.

Of this latter group was a rhyme castigating the local volunteer association for its action in stopping a bull baiting at the Chapel ¥ake in 1798. This song was apparently sung by the "street boys" for years afterwards becoming part of their tradition;

They spoiled the waake And pulled up the staake And put the bull i 1 the dunghill. (3)

It was from this existing culture that both Anglicans and Dissenters were trying to attract their pupils. Considerable importance was placed by the providers of schooling on the need to get a good and regular

(1) Roy Palmer, (Ed.), A Touch on the Times, (1974), plO.

(2) John Freeth, The Rights of Mankind, (1790). Quoted in Palmer, Touch on the Times, pp.278-9.

(3) Dent, Making . ., p.l82. - 160 - attendance "by working class children at school. These providers r-.r^ued on the lines that the working class children were without cultural values and thus needed the benefit of schooling. Their efforts and aspirations for these children lay in their notions of what was appropriate for them, and these notions were naturally enough formed by their own cultural and ideological backgrounds.

Edward Thompson has argued that the Sunday schooling provided in the counter-revolutionary years was class indoctrination by the providing middle class, and involved virtually no education.

•Sunday schools were a dreadful exchange even for village dame's schools .... the function of education began and ended with the 'moral rescue 1 of the children of the poor.'(l)

The evidence from the Unitarian Sunday schools contradicts this general­

ization of Thompson, for the Unitarian schools were not a

'dreadful exchange for dame schools' as they provided both an entry to a wide curriculum as well as a democratic (2) form of organization. v ' The Unitarian venture was possibly an exception, but if so, was an important one, as it showed that not all Sunday schooling was class indoctrination containing little of educative value. There is, however, evidence to support a qualified version of Thompson's generaliz­ ation. J.F.C. Harrison has suggested that middle class providers of day and Sunday schools were aiming to break up the old popular culture, replacing it with a formal literacy. ' Similarly, Harold Silver has

(1) Thompson, Making, p.414; see also E.P. Thompson, 'Time, Work- Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism', Past and Present, rlo. 38, (1967), pp.84-5-

(2) The wider curriculum was available initially through the Brotherly Society, then in the early nineteenth century the curriculum in the schools expanded - see Chapters 5 and 7«

(3) J.F.C. ;arrison, Learning and Living 1790-1960, (l96l) p.40. - 161 - noted how in the Sunday schools

'educational considerations .... (:;ere) .... completely over-weighed by explicit social ones.'(l)

These interpretations gain some confirmation from other actions of the

middle class providers directed against existing working class culture.

In 1777 in Birmingham, as one example of this, Aris's Gazette reported

that

'the Justices have resolved not to renew the Licenses of any of the Publicans who encourage Cookings, Skittles, or other unlawful Diversions.'(2)

This view of schooling provision as indoctrination and a weapon

against working class culture has been disputed by T.W. Laqueur, who

suggests that the Sunday school developed as a

'relatively autonomous, largely working class institution.'(3)

Laqueur also suggests that the middle classes did not exercise very much

influence or control over Sunday schools because the teachers, finance

and background culture were largely working class. These contentions

must be questioned in the light of Birmingham Sunday school development

up to 1804. '

As far as the Anglican Sunday schools were concerned, as Chapter

3 showed, the controlling committee organization was very much middle

class dominated; so too was the finance, which was based on subscriptions

(1) Silver, Concept .... Education, p.35»

(2) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol. 1, p.258.

(3) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.63.

(4) For an assessment of Laqueur's views as applied to Birmingham post 1804 see Chapters 5, 6, and 7« - 162 - and the proceeds of charity sermons, most of which derived from middle class pockets. The teachers may mostly have been of the working class, though very often they were sons and daughters of the middle class supporters of the schools doing charitable work as teachers of the poor.

The available evidence suggests that whatever the teachers* social background was, they had little freedom in what they taught. Apart from the limited curriculum there seems to have been strict control over all aspects of the teaching. The Rev. Riland noted in 1785 that

'The master begins and ends the school with prayer. A form is drawn up and given him.'(l)

The appointment of teachers to the Anglican Sunday schools was also

carefully undertaken; the committee advertised for teachers -

'Notice is hereby given, that those School masters, and mistresses, who mean to offer themselves as teachers, are desired to send in their names, with their recommendations, in writing ... .'(2)

The committee would have presumably only appointed those who inspired

their confidence, their asking for those with written recommendations

might also tend to provide those with the correct social backing.

Apart from the evidence of the Unitarian schools, there is not

sufficient information from the other Dissenting schools to test Laoueur's

hypothesis for this early period. The Unitarian schools certainly tend to

confirm Laqueur's "model" and question Thompson's view; though it should

be noted, that even in the Unitarian schools, finance was still in the

control of the middle class committee. The New Meeting Sunday schools noted in 1800 that «

(1) Jesse, Importance of Education, Appendix.

(2) AG. 16.8.84. - 163 -

'the Funds of the said Charity are exhausted. Resolv'd that the subscribers to the Sunday Schools be requested .... to consider the best means of supplying the deficiency . . . .'(l)

- the subscribers were almost exclusively middle class.

Laqueur, in refuting Thompson's view, suggests that if the Sunday schools had been objectively hostile to the working class, then the working class growing/consciousness would have caused Sunday schools to become repugnant (2) to them and they would have stayed away. ' This in fact, as Chapter 2 showed, was what happened in the working class response to the Anglican Sunday schools. Again, Laqueur suggests that power in Sunday schools was based on reason and not deference, ' but once more the Birmingham Anglican Sunday schools contradict such a view. In arguing that the schools exhibit working class autonomy because of the high degree of working class participation by teachers and pupils, Laqueur seems to ignore the possibility that working class participation could be purely instrumental It is possible that the working class did participate in middle class dominated schools, but in doing so they could well have been opting for yet another alternative, attending the provided school to gain what they wanted before leaving when that was done.

Thus by 1804 schooling in Birmingham had firmly developed along denominational lines, with its success related to the nature of inter- class relationships. The Sunday schools provided by the Dissenters increasing rapidly with working class involvement, those of the Anglicans, without the same level and degree of working class participation, declining.

(1) NMSS Mins. 12.5.00.

(2) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.189.

(3) Ibid, p. 219- - 164 -

It should be remembered, though, that because of Sabbatarian views held by many Anglicans, they tended to place a much greater emphasis on week day schooling, Sunday being left for worship. This to a certain extent giving Dissent a further advantage in attracting pupils.

Schooling, then, was firmly placed for its future development, on denominational lines. Also a shift in its character seemed to be trking place, moving from a limited intake based on a patronage system to a school of all-comers, mass schooling. -165-

CHAFTER 5

TRERDS IN PROVISION 1805-1828 (The Monitorial Phase)

'from whence they are to be brought into school by their monitors in an orderly manner. 1 (l)

The years 1805-1828 vere notable for several developments in the provision of working class schooling. This period saw what has been called

1 (arguably) . . . the most influential innovation in the history of English education 1 (2) the monitorial school. This brought into being the concept of "mass day- schooling11, a concept already formulated in the Sunday schools but not applied to week day schooling. The existing form of provided day schooling in Birmingham in 1805 was the typical eighteenth century selective system of certain "recommended" poor children attending the charity or endowed schools. Those who were not in this provided network either attended private schools or did not attend school at all. The development of the monitorial system has been represented as a move from a provided system which was limited and (3) selective to one where the aim was for 'Schools for All 1 . The first two sections of this chapter examine how far this is true for the Birmingham experience through a consideration of the origins and development of its monitorial schools.

The third section of this chapter looks at the overall provision of schooling for the working class, and argues that although this was a time of educational innovation (as in monitorial schools), a time of discussion

(1) Galton family papers, Lancasterian New School; plans and papers Ibl2. (Manuscript), attached notes, no.13. Housed at Warwick County xecord Office, ref. CR 1198/103-6. (2) Harold Silver, 'Aspects of Neglect: The Strange Case of Victorian Popular Education', Oxford Review of Education. Vol. 3, No.1,(1977),p.58. (3) Johnson, 'Notes on Schooling', pp.44-46. - 166 - and promotion of schooling (as in Whitbread and Brougham's Bills, and the

I8l6-l8 Select Committee Reports), the general trend in the provision of school places for working class children in Birmingham was one of stagnation.

The notable exception to this was in the success of Dissenting Sunday schools.

There was a marked difference between the success of Dissenting

Sunday schooling and other forms of provided schooling. The fourth section

of this chapter examines this difference, and in attempting an explanation,

considers the responses of the working class to the various forms of

schooling provided.

The initial formation of a mass day-school organization was the

rather haphazard result of the work of an impecunious Quaker schoolmaster,

Joseph Lancaster, who in the early l800's toured Britain lecturing on his

monitorial methods. A Committee was formed to help run Lancaster's own

schools and also promote the national spread of monitorial schools; much

of the support for this coming from influential Quakers. This committee

determined that when "Lancasterian" schools were founded they should be

self supporting, their financial solvency depending on local effort; though

the central committee might provide a trained teacher or a grant of materials.

Local schools were often commenced following an appearance by Lancaster

on one of his lecture tours - of which he made nineteen between 1807 and 1810.

(1) H.B. Binns, A Century of Education, Being a Centenary History of the British and Foreign Schools Society, (1908), p.43.The central committee first operated as that of the Royal Lancasterian Society and subsequently the British and Foreign School Society.

(2) Ibid, p.45. - 167 -

The foundation of the Birmingham Lancasterian School was typical of the pattern elsewhere. Lancaster's tour of 1808 brought him to

Birmingham, and although no details of his lectures themselves were reported, Aris's Gazette noted,

'that all who take a lively interest in the welfare of children in the lower classes of society will be gratified to hear that Mr. Joseph Lancaster . . . has given two lectures in this town to large and respectable assemblies . . . which were received with much satisfaction. . * (l)

A series of meetings followed in which Lancaster's system was approved and a committee of organization was appointed. A plot of land was obtained in Severn Street and the school was completed and in operation within eight months. The committee was able in December 1810, in its (2) first annual report, to note that the school was in a 'prosperous state. |V

The organizing force behind the development of the Birmingham

Lancasterian School was dominated by Quakers in both committee membership and the tenure of leading committee positions. Although the evidence of

Lancasterian committee membership is scant, ' the leading committee officers were noted in almost all annual reports from 1812-1830. These show that the hierarchy was very constant, usually involving Charles and

Samuel Lloyd, Samuel Galton, Paul Moon James, all prominent Quakers, and

Timothy Smith a leading Unitarian. ITotable amongst other committee men were members of the Quaker Cadbury and Sturge families, and leading

Unitarians such as William Beale and Rev. Kentish. This Quaker-Unitarian dominance reflected not just that of the national committee but it was

(1) AG. 5.12.08.

(2) AG. 24.12.10.

(3) Full committee lists have only survived for 1812, 1822, 1828-30. - 168 - also consistent with the national pattern of Lancasterian school foundation.

The Manchester Lancasterian school, also opened in 1809 had a Quaker chairman and important Unitarian committee members. ' Similarly

Lancasterian schools in Helper were well supported by the powerful (2) Unitarian mill owners - the Strutts. '

Although supported by Quakers and Unitarians, Lancaster intended that his schools should be open to the children of all denominations:

'Above all things, education ought not to be subservient to the propagation of the peculiar tenets of any sect.'(3)

The advertisements describing the Birmingham schools and asking for subscriptions stressed the inter-denominational aspects

*As the Good of poor Children is the sole Object in View, it is hoped that this General Meeting will be well attended by the benevolent of all Denominations.'(4)

The following week the committee were asked by a General Meeting to

'solicit from Persons of all religious Denominations, further Benefactions and Subscriptions.'(5)

The available evidence suggests, however, that there was no inter­ denominational co-operation on the Birmingham Lancasterian school committee.

Certainly the leading officers were never Anglicans, and the few full committee lists show a similar lack of Anglican names. Yet, elsewhere

(1) Simon, Studies . . ., p.136.

(2) Johnson, Derbyshire Village Schools, p.35»

(3) Joseph Lancaster, Improvements in Education as it respects the Industrious Classe'sof the Community, (1806), p.viii.

(4) AG. 12.12.08.

(5) AG. 19.12.08. - 169 -

there were examples of initial inter-denominational co-operation, usually involving Evangelical Anglicans. ' Further evidence of non- co-operation comes from the Lancasterian school report for 1812. This noted the formation of an Anglican monitorial school (the National school), and commented that

'Some of the most respectable inhabitants, who rather disapproved of ... (this) . . . establishment *(2) were among those involved in forming the Anglican version. This

Anglican disinclination to join Dissent in an educational venture was because it was a non-denominational venture. The Rev. Curtis noted this in a speech to the National School foundation meeting when he declared he could never support such an institution as the Lancasterian school because of its failure to teach religious knowledge. '

There were no letters or reports printed in the newspapers concerning

Anglican views on the founding of the Lancasterian school. It seems likely, however, bearing in mind the views of leading clergy such as

Curtis, Croft and Madan, ' that no clergy lead or approval was given to the venture; even the staunch Evangelical Rev. Burn did not subscribe.

The Birmingham Anglican leadership seems to have withheld major support from the Lancasterian school. Perhaps they felt like Archdeacon

Daubeney that Lancaster was an emissary of Satan.^ ' This is perhaps further evidence of the continuation of the Anglican-Dissent antagonism seen in the last chapter.

(1) Sanderson, 'The .... Societies in Lancashire', p.8; Wardle, Nottingham, p.46.

(2) AG. 14.12.12.

(3) AG. 16.3.12.

(4) See Chapter 4.

(5) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.371> quoting E. Halevy, England in l':15. - 170 -

Despite the disapproval of the clerical leadership in Birmingham, some Anglicans nevertheless subscribed to the Lancasterian schools.

The first available subscription list is of 1812-13, the year when the

National school was opened in Birmingham. It might be expected that this would have caused some Anglican subscribers to change their

subscription allegiance, "but there was no mention of such a change in

the Lancasterian reports, either directly, or in terms of falling

subscription levels.

Of the 254 listed subscribers only 33 have been positively identified

as Anglicans; but what is just as informative in this list as the

presence of some prominent Anglicans, is the absence of others. All

the Birmingham clergy abstaned, the only Anglican clergyman subscribing

was the liberal Rev. Dr. Parr of Hatton. ' There were several

subscriptions representing "county benefaction" from local members of

the gentry and members of both Houses of Parliament. Lord Calthorpe

was also a subscriber, partly it would seem as the local lord, but also

from personal conviction. He was a strong Evangelical Whig, and was (2) very responsive to middle class political opinion and aspirations. '

The advocacy of Lancasterian schools by that class thus gained his

support. The other Anglican supporters of the Lancasterian school were

of fairly high social standing, including the two most recent High

Bailiffs, Joseph Ledsam and Thomas Attwood, and several men who were then, or were to become, King Edward's Governors. ' Apart from this small representation of prominent Anglicans there was no other evidence of

(1) Rev. Dr. Parr was a friend of both Joseph Priestley and Dr. Samuel Johnson. (2) David Cannadine, 'The Calthorpe Family and Birmingham 1810-1910: A Conservative Interest Ex-mined 1 , Historical Journal, XVIII, 4, (1975), P.735-

(3) W.W. Capper, R.W. Gem, Dr. John Johnstone, C. Ingleby, J.L. Moilliet and R. Pratchett. - 171 -

Anglican support, most elements of lay Anglicanism seemingly following the clergy's lead.

As already suggested, both Anglican and Dissenting subscribers were men of considerable wealth and social position. Their intention to follow Lancaster's plan closely was noted in the decision to establish schools on a similar plan to Lancaster's and in the approval given to his form of instruction in the 3 R's. The basis of Lancaster's plan was that the children would be divided into classes, with all the classes

situated in one room under the control of one master. The classes would (2) have a monitor to each ten boys, these monitors controlling the various aspects of running the school, from giving instruction, rewards and punishment to ruling lines in books. They, in their turn, were instructed by the master. The aim was to save as much time, labour and cost as possible - hence the claim on their advertisement that the school

•affords the Means of saving in Time, Labour, and Expence.'(3)

This system which Lancaster claimed worked effectively, proved that

•a very large number of children may be super­ intended by one master; and that they can be self educated by their exertions under his care.'(4)

Lancaster's book "Improvements in Education" described the methods of teaching writing with boys using sand trays at long bench-desks being

(1) AG. 19.12.08.

(2) Lancaster, Improvements, p.37.

(3) Report of the Royal Lancasterian Free School, in Severn Street, Birmingham, for 1822, (Birmingham 1822) with other papers in U.B. Bickley, Broadsides etc, relating to Birmingham, c.1768-1927, BRL.

(4) Lancaster, Improvements, p.37. - 172 - instructed by monitors. It also described how reading was taught in groups standing around letter cards hung on the wall. The surviving plan of the Birmingham Lancasterian school illustrates how closely it followed Lancaster's pattern. ' The master's desk overlooked the rows of long bench-desks, and some of the reading areas were marked along the walls. An advertisement picture of the school "in operation" sho'WBhow the monitors moved around their classes or stood with reading groups at (2) the wall charts. ' The appended notes to the plan of the school suggest the conformity of Birmingham's Lancasterian school with that of

Lancaster's "model". These notes showed that the monitors had special stations to stand at while dictating spelling, and that there were special places for the sub-divisions to stand and read. They also mentioned

'Lines for the Boys to Walk by* and these are shown both in the picture and the plan. '

Lancaster's general aims of educating poor children to a reverence for God and the Scriptures, to honest and sober behaviour, and the avoidance of temptation, ' were reflected in the general rules of the

Birmingham institution. Everyone was to attend a place of worship or

Sunday school on the Sabbath; and during the week, before morning and afternoon school,

'Silence shall be observed, when one or two Chapters in the Old or New Testament shall be solemnly and audibly read', this by the Master or an elder boy.(5)

(1) Galton, Lanes. Plans.

(2) Lanes. 1822, in Bickley, Broadsides.

(3) Galton, Lanes. Plans; Lanes. 1822, in Bickley, Broadsides.

(4) Lancaster, Improvements, p. viii-ix.

(5) AC- 23.1.09. - 173 -

The appointment of the Master was made by the committee, and it was noted at the first public meeting that Joseph Lancaster had offered to send a "young man" from Borough Road to help.^ ' It seems this offer was taken up for the first teacher when the school opened 9 months later was from Borough Road - a 19 year old named John Veevers. He was one of Lancaster's original students at Borough Road and already had three years experience of teaching. He stayed as master at the Birmingham school for four years to 1813 when he left to become Superintendant of (2) the Kildare Place Society training school in Dublin. ' During his stay in Birmingham the school developed along orthodox Lancasterian lines.

Veever's replacement was a local man who was already involved in one of the more "liberal" Sunday schools in Birmingham; Thomas Baker who was

Superintendant of the New Meeting Sunday Schools. In 1815 he wrote to the Lancasterian headquarters giving details of the Birmingham school, noting amongst other things, the reward system used. This involved the presentation of a merit medal with a blue ribbon which bore an emblem of a beehive in a crescent. The inscription was

'Order of Merit - Birmingham Royal Lancasterian Free School - By Teaching ¥e Learn - By Industry we live. f (3)

There seems little doubt that the Birmingham Lancasterian school was in the mainstream of the Lancasterian tradition. chief There are several difficulties in the way of determining the/aims of the local Lancasterian supporters. The months of discussions and

(1) AG. 19.12.08.

(2) Binns, Century . . ., p.H4> Goldstrom, Social Content, p. 57*

(3) BFAR, 1813, pp.37-41. - 174 - meetings prior to the school's formation were reported in the paper, but mainly in the form of resolutions, with no mention of individuals involved or the suggestions and arguments which they may have advanced.

The opposition to the schools (mentioned earlier) was not reflected in any letters to the paper, neither was support for the school. Ho committee minutes seem to have survived, and the annual reports have not

survived in an original form, but have been collated from their being

reprinted in the local press each year. Consequent on all this, there

are no direct statements to be found from Birmingham Lancasterian supporters.

It is necessary, therefore, to examine the reports and resolutions and

deduce from these (and from the omissions within them) what the aims of

the local Lancasterian supporters were.

In assessing the aims of the local Lancasterian providers it is how important to know/far religion was a dominant feature and whether the

provision was seen as a crusade to bring working class children to a non-

sectarian knowledge of God. Certainly the initial advertisement stressed

'the Great Importance of Religion and Morality'(l)

and in 1819 the committee noted that the benefits of moral culture and (2) a knowledge of the scriptures were seen in boys who had left the school.

The annual reports frequently stressed Religious Instruction, as in the

1812 report which noted

'Great pains have been tg-ken to impress upon the minds of the parents the importance of religious instruction.*(3) Periodically the committee reported on the ways that boys spent the Sabbath.

(1) AG. 19.12.08.

(2) AG. 20.12.19.

(3) AG. 14.12.12. - 175 -

Although the importance of religious instruction was frequently stressed, it was often only mentioned as being one aspect of the curriculum. The suggestion behind the wording of the reports seems to be that the importance of religious and moral instruction was that it helped produce habits of orderly behaviour, not that it was important merely in itself or for the "souls" of the children.

One of the main impressions gained from a reading of the annual reports is that of the committee's belief in the value of the habit-forming nature of the school. The advertisementibr the school noted one of the school's particular advantages was the

'Habits of Order, Activity and Diligence'(l) which it established. The emphasis in this initial advertisement being not so much the curriculum, as the way in which it would be implemented with discipline and hard work. The various annual reports suggest that

the committee saw advantages arising from the inculcation of these habits, many of which concerned the problem of obtaining a disciplined and

ordered society.

It is possible that the overall aim of Lancasterian providers was

to aid both the working class and society as a whole. The reports mention the good that will accrue to the labouring or manufacturing class from the use of the school;

'The tendency of this institution to promote the happiness of the labouring class .... is manifest.'(2)

The report of l8l8 noted that the orderly habits gained in school

(1) Lanes, 1822, in Bickley, Broadsides.

(2) AG. 20.12.13. - 176 -

'will conduce to the Welfare of the labouring class' as well as that of the town. ' The committee suggested in 1817 that every 'reflecting mind 1 must acknowledge the school's importance, as each year it sent out two hundred boys instructed in the '3 R's 1 and

'confirmed in orderly Habits and in regular Attendance at their respective Places of Divine Worship .... (this) .... must powerfully conduce to the welfare of the manufacturing Class, as well as to the Prosperity and good Order of the Town of Birmingham.'(2)

As with the Sunday schools, the providers here expressed their concern for working class children in terms of habits of order and discipline; the internalization of middle class cultural norms by these children was seen as contributing to a well disciplined society. There was however a

sharp distinction between their intentions and the outcome. They viewed the children as being completely open to cultural manipulation, not perceiving that they were part of a thriving culture, and that assimilation of a counter culture was thus not a straight-forward proposition.

The value of these habits to the supporters of the school could be more direct than just as an aid to the order of society. The 1812 report noted not just habits of order, but

'The habits of activity, regularity, and useful application of talents, which have been induced...'(3)

This comment was a reflection of others which stressed the more "useful"

(1) AG. 14.12.18.

(2) AG. 15.12.17.

(3) AG. 14.12.12. - 177 -

side of schooling. In 1811 the report commented

'Regularity, Order and Punctuality, become habitual, and, when they leave School, the Boys take with them these desirable Habits, and are thereby rendered more valuable Servants to their Employers. f (l)

Th_is inculcation of a work ethic, already illustrated in the reward

medallion of the school with its behive emblem, was a factor which would have undoubtedly appealed to the employing class of the early nineteenth century; the connection between work habits and school habits was realised by employers. Some years later it was noted

•The best educated are the most valuable workmen'.(2)

Other comparisons were made between the state of the educated and

the ignorant and the way this impinged on society. The 1811 report drew

a connection between the level of poverty and the amount of the poor rates

with the level of ignorance of the poor. It offered, as a cheap and

efficient solution, the Lancasterian school's form of education, which

would help to combat the position of ignorance as the frequent 'Cause

and Companion of Poverty 1 , The 1812 advertisement announced that the

school saved not just in the monetary sphere but also in time and labour;

and frequently the reports noted the economy, in various forms of the

Lancasterian school. The whole tenor of these arguments was biased

again to the wants of the providing group; the suggestion being that a

small monetary investment in the school would provide returns, both monetary and social.

(1) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol.2, p.253.

(2) CEC, 1843* p.f.131. no.351; cf. Thompson, 'Time, Work Discipline, p.84.

(3) Report of the Finance Committee and Trustees of the Royal Lancasterian Institution for the Education of the Poor for the year 1811, (1812), Birmingham report, p.15- - 178 -

It has been suggested by Dr. Sanderson that one of the main reasons for the formation of the day school societies was the growth of population groups with no access to social, religious or cultural facilities. '

This situation meant that many children were not receiving any religious instruction and thus their souls were in danger of being lost. Consequently the salvation of souls was a matter of prime importance to many religious men, both Anglican and Dissenting. It was this concern to provide religious education to save souls which was

'the dynamic behind the education of religious bodies'(2)

How applicable is this argument to the Birmingham experience? From the available evidence it would seem that Birmingham does not fit into

Sanderson's typology. There is nothing in the annual reports from 1810-

1829 which would suggest a 'conscience driven urgency'. ' pressing education forward to save souls. It would seem that the motive force was rather a desire to instruct children in the modes of behaviour they should adopt, this to be done through instruction in Religion and Morality.

The report of l8l6 suggested that the advantages of the school Religious and Moral Instruction, and habits of order, etc., would be

•conducive to the good Order and Respectability of .... Conduct.' (4)

The very absence of strong phrasing on the importance of religious inculcation and scriptural instruction in order to save the souls of working

(1) Sanderson, 'The .... Societies in Lancashire 1 , p.2. (2) Ibid, p.3.

(3) Ibid, p.3. (4) AC. 16.12.16. - 179 - class children may be seen as a pointer to its relative importance in the aims of the Lancasterian providers. This is not to argue that religi.gious instruction was not considered to be important and a most necessary aspect of education. The crucial point is perhaps the content of the religious education, and the evidence here suggests that the content stressed the creation of acceptable behavioural patterns in the child, rather than securing a relationship of the child and its soul with God.

In arguing the paramountcy of soul-saving as the prime motive force behind the educational societies, Sanderson has also suggested that there is a modern tendency to regard early nineteenth century elementary education

'in our more secular age 1 as

'a middle-class ideological exercise in the social control and discipline of the lower orders . . . f (l)

Is there any Birmingham evidence which suggests in fact that social control and discipline was wanted or organized by the Lancasterian providers?

The evidence already presented suggests that the providers of the

Lancasterian school were well aware of the benefits to themselves and society that education of the working classes could bring. It has been shown that schools were recommended as the way to lower the poor rate, to combat vice, to provide better employees and secure a more stable and ordered society. Furthermore all this could be provided in an economical fashion. There is little doubt that the Lancasterian providers were aware of potential dangers to the stability of society. In 1819 there was

Considerable political unrest in Birmingham. There had been large

(l) Sanderson, 'The .... Societies in Lancashire 1 , p.2. - 180 -

-meetings on Newhall Hill, the reaction to 'Peterloo 1 , prosecutions of radical "booksellers and an outburst of political pamphletry. The annual Lancasterian report in reference to the events of the previous months urged that strict attention should be paid to taking the children to church or Sunday school every Sunday

'particularly at the present period'.(l)

This awareness of the uses of the Lancasterian school in terms of the preservation of social stability is not too surprising when the occupations (2) and social levels of the school providers are borne in mind. '

How far can the Lancasterian movement be represented as the day

school organization of Dissent? The original central Lancasterian

committee was composed of Dissenters - Quaker and Baptist, but it was

closely supported by Evangelical Anglicans, and a Radical-Whig alliance

(Brougham-Mill-Wakefield-Place), ' some of whom were secularists. Thus

the initial central movement was not Dissenting as such but is more

accurately described as non-denominational. In Birmingham the subscribers'

lists have shown considerable support from leading Quakers, Unitarians

and some Baptists. These elements of Dissent, particularly the Unitarians were far more the heterodox ones of Dissent. Perhaps, then, the opening years of the Lancasterian school were not so much representing a Dissenting

(1) AG. 20.12.19. E.G. (2) /Paul Moon James, a Quaker banker, Secretary of the Lancasterian School in 1819, who was also a member of the Tory Pitt Club, and took part in the anti-Radical activity of the period l8l8-1821. Cf. Clive Behagg, Artisan Radicalism in Birmingham 1813-1820 (with special reference to George Edmonds and the Press), B.A. Dissertation, University of Birmingham, (1971).

(3) Simon, Studies . . ., pp.132 and 149- - 181 - force, but more a growing radical-whig bourgeois force. Orthodox

Dissent did not enter day schooling until the 1830's-40's, which suggests that the Lancasterian school was not a Dissenting crusade but had other motives informing it. It i.ras perhaps more representative of growing middle class power and its desire to organize society.

The Lancasterian system was not just for the education of boys, though all the evidence and discussion so far has centred on the boys 1 school. This has solely been for reasons of available evidence.

Beyond mentions of its foundation and occasional references proving that it continued, no records of the Lancasterian Girls School, which was founded in 1813, seem to have survived. The British and Foreign Schools

Society report for 1814 noted that 'Female Schools on the British System have been organized at Birmingham. 1 * ' The Brougham Report of I8l8 did not mention it, but Kerry's report (1833) showed it to be still in existence. Information from the Infant School Society (founded 1826) showed the Lancasterian Girls School was in operation as it noted that (2) they were sharing the same building. v ' As regards the organization or committee membership or pupil attendance of the school there is no information.

To conrolete the list of Lancasterian activity there are two other developments to be mentioned. In 1815 the annual report of the school noted that the early age at which children were employed meant they were

'liable, without further instruction, to lose some Portion of the advantages they derived whilst in the School. f (3)

(1) BFAR, 1814, Birmingham report, X.

(2) Birmingham Infant School Society, Annual Reports, Ist-tth (1825-1832 to l83?-3) and 10th-14th (1834-5 to 1838-9).

(3) AC. 18.12.15. - 182 -

To overcome this the committee suggested the formation of evening classes. The children would pay a small fee to help cover the financial loss incurred by the master who was giving up a private evening school.

The idea was approved and acted upon with initial success. It suffered with a decline in trade which affected employment and it was suspended at the end of l8l6. No further references to this evening venture have been located. The other development referred to was the foundation of another Lancasterian School - the British School in Tennant Street, l8l6.

This girls' school has little record of its progress, the only references to it coming after 1828 and thus receiving consideration in Chapter ?•

The end of this period also saw the development of an inter-denomin­ ational Infant School Society. This has not been examined in detail as only tfrwo of the schools it founded developed on non-denominational lines, and dealt with a very small number of children. The other schools formed by the society seemingly went under the aegis of their local

National Schools and became absorbed as such.

II

The formation of Lancasterian schools though it may have been the product of the influential Quaker network, seems somewhat haphazard and fortuitous; but there was certainly nothing haphazard about the formation in l8ll of the National Society by the Anglican hierarchy.

This was a direct response to the growing and expanding Lancasterian movement, and Birmingham clergy were not slow in taking up this cause.

The 6th March 1812 saw a meeting of Anglicans for the purpose of establishing schools for the poor in connection with the Church of

England. The first resolution passed noted the expedience of establishing schools for either sex of poor children in the Birmingham parishes, where - 183 - they might "be

'instructed in reading, writing and arithmetic, and in the principles of the Christian Religion, according to the doctrines of the Established Church. ! (l)

A committee was appointed and a fortnight later it announced it was looking for temporary rooms so that schools could be established 'as speedily as (2) possible 1 , while the purpose-built National School was under construction.

The schools opened in July in temporary rooms. The plan to build the school for 500 was revised in August because of the number of applications - it was determined to accommodate 1000. ' The new buildings were opened in April l8l3> a year after the first meeting. The school's formation was similar to that of the Lancasterian school, being based on the well tried philanthropic method of calling a meeting, gaining subscribers and appointing a committee for the project.

The moving spirits in founding the school were the clergy, and their support came from the wealthy middle class of Birmingham. The first committee was composed of 12 members, apart from honorary Presidents and

Patrons, with the clergy and Churchwardens ex officio members. Of these twelve, nine were from the big bourgeoisie, one was a Lt. Col. in the army and two of unknown occupation, a committee certainly representative of the elite of Birmingham. As Chapter 3 showed this pattern was consistent for the period up to 1828. The pattern was matched elsewhere in the country, though the central committee was composed entirely of the clergy. ^'

(1) BNSAR 1812.

(2) AG. 23.3.12.

(3) AG. 10.8.12.

(4) Sanderson, 'The . . . Societies in Lancashire 1 , p.l6. - 184 -

The system of education that the National Society espoused was the

Madras monitorial system as evolved by Dr. Bell.* ' To all intents and

purposes this was the same as Lancaster's system, apart from one major difference, which was the form of religious instruction. The spur to

form the National Society had been the fear that the lower orders i:ere being lost by the Established Church, in a process hastened by the Lancasterian schools. The National Society "thus instructed youth in the "Anglican Religion."

Although few details of the National School in Pinfold Street remain, it seems that it conformed to the monitorial pattern, and used the monitorial method. The National Society Report for 1814 noted that desks and sand trays were arranged on three sides of the walls for the writing classes. The school was set up with the ground floor as the 'Boys 1 school and the upper floor for the girls. It was 80 feet long by 40 feet wide, similar in size to the Lancasterian school in Severn Street, though having one more floor. The building was surrounded by a high wall and the area enclosed was divided into courts for two play- (2) grounds: there was no communication between them. ' How far the playgrounds met their description is uncertain, quite possibly they were mainly used as a marshalling area before moving the children into school.

The curriculum was the 3 R's and the Christian Religion (Anglican version) and was taught on the monitorial method. This is not to state the obvious, for, as Michael Sanderson has suggested, many schools called themselves "National" or "British" without belonging to or necessarily

following the forms laid down by those groups. ' The 1813 national

(1) BNSAR 1812. (2) NSAR 1814, Birmingham report. (3) Cf. opening quotrtion of this chapter. (4) Sanderson, 'The . . . Societies in Lancashire 1 , p.10. - 185 -

Society Report in its comments on Birmingham noted the diligence of the master, and also that

•several of the classes are very well disciplined under teachers of not more than seven years of age.'(l)

This monitorial form was not strictly according to the National Society's plan, as they said children should not be taken in until the age of seven.

Birmingham came into line with this a few years later. The Girls'

school had a more limited curriculum with an emphasis on knitting and

making clothes.

The mode of admission to the schools, like the mode of their

formation, was based on the old-established philanthropic procedure of

subscriber recommendation. Those who wanted a place

'must apply to any subscriber to whom they are known, for a written recommendation, which they must bring to the Committee . . . .'(2)

This was again a method shared with the Lancasterian school.

It has been suggested that the paramount issue of saving the souls

of children was the spur behind this new schooling provision. ' The

Birmingham evidence shows that certainly religious instruction and the

benefits which accrued from it received much attention in the opening

discussions and formulations about the school. The opening resolution

already quoted, has shown the determination that religious instruction

should be along Anglican doctrinal lines. The first annual report of

the school in 1813 noted that the system of education included

(1) NSAR 1813« Birmingham report.

(2) AG. 27.7.12.

(3) Sanderson, 'The . . . Societies in Lancashire', p.2. - 186 -

'careful and constant Instruction in the Principles of sound Religion.'(l)

The report of I8l6 noted the school's

CHARACTERISTIC (was in conveying) SOUND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 1 . (2)

The initial meeting about the school and the speeches of three of

the promoting clergy were reported in Aris's Gazette. The Rev. Burn

stated that the proposition to form a national school was

'a most religious and Christian duty.'(3)

The Rev. Curtis of St. Martins spoke of the importance of religious

instruction; it was part of the teaching of the Church that religious

instruction should be given to children.

'It is no good letting children choose their religion when they're older, they will be lost for good.'(4)

In these extracts there does indeed seem to be concern for the religious

education of children and the need for individual children to be so

educated.

It seems that almost always when the importance of religious

instruction was mentioned, it was linked to its part in the process of

protecting the Established Church and society. There seemed to be an

equation between the Christianity of the Church of England and the

(1) AG. 22.3.13.

(2) BNSAR, 1816. (3) AG- 16.3.12. (4) Ibid. - 18? - continuation of society as it was known. In his speech Rev. Curtis stated that he felt the general interests of Christianity were bound up with the safety and prosperity of the national church. He argued that if the Anglican church did not act, she would die 'the suicide of her own indifference 1 . The only defence that he could see, the

•one mode of parrying destruction (was) the immediate formation of parochial schools.'(l)

The Rev. Dr. Outram of St. Philips argued in a similar fashion, that it was the duty of the church to care for the poor.

'The more widely a right education is spread amongst them, the better will the lower orders of the community comprehend, and the more they will esteem, admire, and revere our enviable Constitution in Church and State.'(2)

The echoes here are not of soul saving for the individual's sake, but of society saving for the Establishment's sake.

The value of the school was sometimes seen to be on a more pratical level. The report for 1816 noted that the Madras system had considerable advantages

•for inculcating with extraordinary Facility and Accuracy, such substantial knowledge as may be necessary for every Class of Society in their usual Occupations.* (3)

This meant that in giving them an education to fit them for their employment, they would not be educated out of their "station" in life.

The advantages to employers in encouraging children to attend the national

School were stressed in the report of 1824. This noted that children

(1) Ibid.

(2) Ibid.

(3) BNSAR, 1816. - 188 - educated under the aegis of the National School had shown steadiness and good conduct in their future employment. ' At a time when the working class was "beginning to realise itself and was becoming more articulate and restive, such advantages of education would most probably interest employers and encourage them in favour of such schools.

It was suggested in the last chapter that one of the aims of the

Anglican Sunday schools was to preserve the social status quo and the reverence for hierarchy, an aim which continued into the national school era. In 1823 the committee congratulated the children on their ability in the 3 R's and then noted,

'And what is of much greater consequence, they had acquired a correct knowledge of their duty as Christians*'(2)

that duty, as Chapter 4 showed, being to reverence the existing God - given

order, one of social strata and hierarchy. It would seem that it was

in this area that the real reasons for Anglican effort for mass day

schools were to be found.

There seems little doubt that the Anglican elite in Birmingham saw

the spread of Lancasterian schools not just as a danger to the pre-eminence

of the Anglican Church, but also as a contributory factor to possible

social upheaval. In requesting money for the building of the school

in 1812 the committee proclaimed that

'the cause in which they are engaged is the cause of every friend of pure religion, moral virtue, and social order . . . .'(3)

(1) BNSAR, 1824.

(2) BNSAR, 1823.

(3) AG. 10.8.12. - 189 -

A fear of social upheaval had "been present among the social elite for the previous twenty years and ways of containing that threat were zealously promoted. ' In l8l6 the committee asked for the support of those who saw

•pure Religion as the best Basis of public Welfare. 1 (2)

This fear had been expressed by the Anglican hierarchy during the early years of Lancaster's operations, and many prelates were worried by his and Dissent's success. The Rev. H. Marsh, later Bishop of Llandaff, argued that for the Church of England not to control English education

'would involve, not only an absurdity, but a principle of self-destruction.'

He felt that the 'enemies 1 of the establishment were using the 'most powerful engine 1 of monitorialism against the Church. ' The Rev. Curtis's view much resembled that of Rev. Marsh. Curtis also likened the monitorial system to a machine, (as did many writers), and noted that he was an admirer of its power and capacity. But the question he asked, as did most Anglican clergy, was

'Will the Church of England avail herself of this engine of instruction; or will she suffer all the force of it to be employed in another manner . . ?'(4)

That manner was, in Anglican eyes, the advancement of religious indifference,

(1) As in the many "suppression 11 societies. (2) BNSAR, 1816.

(3) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.372, quoting Rev. H. Marsh, The National Religion, The Foundation of national Education, (l8ll),pp.3-10. (4) AG. 16.3.12. - 190 - infidelity and radicalism, all of which threatened social stability.

The possibility of using the national Schools as agents of indoc­ trination was not lost on the providing middle classes. In 1817 artisan radicalism began to make itself felt in Birmingham and there was a period of rising tension between the artisan radicals and the Tory elite. '

This was reflected in the National School report of 1817.

'If indeed any effectual check can be given to the progress of turbulence and infidelity, it must be done by training up the rising generation in the ways and order of religion, by teaching them early the value of industry, the necessity of subordination, the duties which as subjects and Christians they owe to God and the King. f

In the National School the committee assured their supporters

'subordination becomes a habit.'(2)

In the early l820's this fear was eased by the argument that education could be a powerful aid to the preservation of social peace.

The report of 1822 in equating ignorance and vice echoed the same view held by the Lancasterians in 1819, and noted that support for the

National School was of advantage to society and the individual who would

'be rescued from ignorance and those vices which are its inseparable attendants . . . .'(4)

These unstated but "understood" vices which constituted a social danger were clearly spelt out a year later when radicalism was again evident.

(1823 was the year George Edmonds, the leading local radical journalist,

(1) Behagg, Artisan Radicalism, pp.53-80.

(2) BNSAR, 1817.

(3) AG. 20.12.19.

(4) BNSAR, 1822. - 191 -

returned to Birmingham after his imprisonment). The National School

report of that year urged help for the school in its educational work, particularly

f at a season when the powers of darkness seem to be let loose against the poor and ignorant, and the most persevering and malignant efforts are made to seduce them into the paths of vice and infidelity.'(l)

The existing day schools were not immune to the new system and their governing bodies noted the value placed on the monitorial method by the Anglican hierarchy as a means of exercising discipline and control, and moulding working class children into an acceptable social conformity.

Both the King Edward's Governors and the Blue Coat Committee made efforts to utilize this new method.

The King Edward's Governors acted speedily after the formation of the National Society. In December 1811 they met to consider and discuss the establishment of schools on Dr. Bell's pattern. They resolved that for

'more effectually extending the benefits arising from the small schools it is expedient to adopt Dr. Bell's plan as far & as speedily as .... circumstances will admit.'(2)

The benefits which arose from the small schools being for the Governors the bringing of working class children within their sphere of influence.

The Governors abandoned their project for a National School after they had been approached by a representative of the clergy group who were also planning a National School. The Governors provided a site for the new school, at a rent of £15 per annum, which was later remitted in exchange

(1) BNSAR, 1823.

(2) GOR, 18.12.11. - 192 - for the Governors having the right to recommend sixty children a year, and also to have

! 3 persons of their own body appointed from time to time by themselves always upon the Committee of the said Schools'.(l)

Thus although the Governors did not actually build a King Edward's National School, they substantially aided the foundation of the Birmingham

National School, and had a degree of control over it.

The Governors did consider the formation of their own national school a little later. In 1821 it was resolved that a committee should consider the abolition of the small schools and their replacement by a Girls' School and a Boys' School on the system of the National Society. Again in 1823, it was resolved to consolidate the small schools of the boys into a school to teach the 3 R's, book-keeping and English Grammar

'upon the National System of Education under one Master. . . .'(2)

However, because of the circumstances surrounding the legality of the small schools this never reached fruition, and the Governors remained contented with their share in the existing National School.

The Blue Coat School was also affected by the new system. Although it did not aim at increasing its size or extent of influence, the committee decided to use the new method. In 1816 the Master and Mistress attended the Birmingham National School for instruction in the 'Madras' system and methods. The minutes for 1817 recorded that the Rev. Johnson of the Central School in London visited the Blue Coat School and was delighted.

(1) GOR, 4.5.12; 12.12.17.

(2) GOR, 30.3.21; 23.12.23. - 193 -

He did however urge the master to go to London to perfect himself in the National system - the committee paid his expenses and enabled him to do this. '

The development of mass day schools represented a major innovation in the forms of schooling provided for working class children. Prior to this, from the 1780*s, the emphasis had been on Sunday schooling.

How successful was this extended provision in attracting working class children into schools?

Ill

The period 1805-1828 saw a considerable increase in the amount of

Anglican activity in day schools, aimed at extending the benefits of

Anglican education more deeply into the lower levels of society. How

successful were the Anglicans in this period in halting or reversing

their declining percentage of provision which had become apparent in the pre-monitorial school years.

The Birmingham National School had much said in its favour, and much

concerning its success. In 1813 Dr. Bell visited the school for a

second time, and his testimony on the state and improvement of the school was 'most gratifying 1 . (2)' The 1815 report told of the evident improvement in the Girls' school and in 1822 the committee noted "with pleasure the discipline, good conduct and the attainment of the children.

Again in 1824 and 1826 the committee noted their pleasure in the str.te of the schools. Yet, over this period, the Nr.tional School did not

(1) Bl.Ct.Mins. 23.8.16; 19.2.17.

(2) AG, 22.3.13. - 194 - flourish. It did not manage to halt or reverse the trend already shown by the Anglican schooling before 1805. As Table 34 illustrates, the progress of the school was somewhat erratic, including a marked slump in

the early 1820's. Of interest to note is the similarity of pattern

between the attenda nee of girls and boys. The graph suggests that the

factors affecting child attendance rates did not differentiate between the

sexes. This question of attendance factors will be considered in a later

chapter. The graph shows quite clearly though, that after fifteen years

the school had not managed to expand to its capacity, or even maintain a

regular clientele.

TABLE 34 (1) CHILDREN II\T THE NATIONAL SCHOOL 1812-1828

700 Boys

600 Girls X-

500

400

300

200

100

1812 13 14 15 16 17' 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

The retardation of the Anglican position was clearly reflected in provided the schooling/by the King Edward's foundation. The years 1805-1828 sai:

no new foundations by the King Edward's Governors. Not only WPS there

no expansion, but in the late 1820 f s the small schools were all closed,

reducing King Edward's total provision from around 500 to about 120.

(l) Figures from BNSAR, 1813-182?. Figures given are for numbers on books - 195 -

The sub-committee formed in 1821 to consider the replacement of the small schools with national schools reported in 1823 that the Girls' schools should be abolished

'as they do not seem to come in any respect within the boundaries to which the .... Governors .... are limited.'(l)

Another sub-committee formed to answer the questions of the Charity

Commissioners noted in 1826 that the small schools were not to be included in the present scheme of the school as they had been established

'without the requisite sanction of the Court of Chancery or Parliament.'(2)

As a consequence of that decision the eight small schools were shut

1825-1829 leaving only the Free Grammar School in existence from the earlier variety of King Edward's Schools.

The pattern is similar for the Anglican Sunday schools. Table

35 shows the annual figures for children in the school. Although this chart shows considerable fluctuation and some sort of consolidated rise by 1825> it should be remembered that this is only an improvement of 225 children over 20 years. As the child population had risen considerably during this period this does not even represent an advance in the provision of education, it is part of the decline of Anglican provision.

The pattern of decline shown in Table 35 is all the mere surprising in view of the great stress placed on the importance of Sunday schooling by the local clergy and the Sunday school committee. There are many references to the value of Sunday schools as the agency for educating

(1) GOfi, 22.12.23.

(2) GOR, 17.3.26. - 196 - the working class - the reason being that

'most of the Children of the Poor are sent constantly to work for Six Days in the Week . . .'(l) and thus could not attend a day school. Frequently reports noted that the working class child would

'but for the Sunday schools . . . want the blessing of education altogether. 1 (2)

Working class parents were exhorted to send their children to Sunday school,

In 1815 the Bordesley and Deritend Sunday school told parents that children who stiayed did so because they did not go to Sunday school, arguing that parents who didn't help their children by sending them to Sunday school (3) would suffer the wrath of God. Despite all this pressure, Anglican

Sunday school education hardly advanced in actual numbers, and proportionally with the population it declined. By 1828 the whole and considerable

effort that had gone into Anglican education, both day and Sunday, had

resulted in a retardation of provision.

TABLE 35 SUNDAY CHILDREN IN ANGLICAN SCHOOLS 1805-1825.

1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 1805 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

(1) AG. 4.12.15.

(2) AG. 1.11.13.

(3) J. Darwall, An Address to the Parents of Poor Children in the Hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley, (Birmingham, I8l5)< pp.7-9*

(4) Figures compiled from Annual Reports in AG. - 197 -

Was this decline in the Anglican schools experienced in the

Lancasterian School? Having seen the comparative success of Dissent in Sunday schooling in the earlier period, it might be asked -whether a

Dissent supported day school such as the Lancasterian one, saw similar success. If that was so it might be argued that one of the arbiters of success was religious denomination. Table 36 shows the progress of the

Lancasterian school. The steady start although reflecting the numbers on the books is probably not too far from the attendance rate, as reports

and comments suggested the school had a good attendance rate. Figures

in 1827 and 1828 noted an attendance rate of about 85$. Earlier

evidence of good attendance came in the l8ll report which noted

'This number is regularly kept up. Whenever a vacancy occurs, the master sends for the first boy on the Candidates List, on which there are now 70 waiting for admission.'(2)

Again, the 1817 reported noted that

'Continual Applications are made by the Parents for the Admisaon of their Children, so as not only to keep the School filled but to afford a Prospect of a much larger Number being educated 1

when funds permit, '

(1) AG. 21.1.28; 2.2.29.

(2) Royal Lanes Report, l8ll, p.15.

(3) AG. 15.12.17. - 198 -

TABLE 36

CHILDREN (BOYS) IN LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL 1809-1828^ l '

500 400 300

200

100

0

1809 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 2? 28

Table 36 suggests a very successful start, a decline and partial recovery in the fortunes of the Lancasterian school. The reasons for this being discussed later in this chapter. Yet, despite the comparative level of success the Lancasterian school did not expand as hinted in 1817.

As with the national school, the Lancasterian school by lack of expansion failed to cater for the growing working class child population and its provision level as compared to the numbers of children wanting education suffered. The Lancasterian school was not a developing educational venture; it, too, tended to stagnate.

ITot all the educational institutions in Birmingham were in such a position. One area of growth, in fact almost the only area of growth, was that of the Dissenting Sunday schools. These showed a much healthier pattern. As Chapter 2 explained, full details of Dissenting attendance figures have proved difficult to compile. However, using newspaper reports and chapel records it has been possible to note the growth and expansion of certain denominations.

(l) Figures compiled from AJ£, Not reprinted in AG. for 1812, 1823-4. Figures given are for numbers on books. - 199 -

The Unitarian Old Meeting Boys Sunday school provides evidence of admissions and dismissals for the period 1810-1828. As Table 37 illustrates, there was a steady increase over the years in the numbers on the books. As far as can be ascertained this seems to be reflected also in the average attendance. At certain places in the Teachers Society

Minute Books references were made to attendance. Usually it was in the form of a comment that attendance last month was good-bad-better, but occasionally it was more informative. In 1819 the Annual Report noted that

'upon an average for each Sunday in the year 39 have been absent, or about l/8th the whole number.

In 1824 it was noted that the number generally absent was about one third, and in 1828 it was an absence rate of 60-80 boys each Sunday, about one sixth. It was commented that if all those on the books did attend, (2) there would not be enough room. '

TABLE 37 (3) BOYS AT OLD MEETING : 1810-1828

500 no.on books •——•——• 400 Average attendance 300 v/ \J ,___ v A A 200

100

0 1810 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

(1) OMFS Mins. 2 6.12.19.

(2) Ibid. 25.4.24; 24.2.28.

(3) Compiled from OMFS kins. - 200 -

The attendance records of the New Meeting Sunday schools are unfortunately scarce before 1824? after which detailed records have survived. The few figures available show a steady increase in attendance,

By 1817 there were 600 children in attendance and by 1824 average attendance had reached 756, where it steadied for the rest of this period. ' The level of attendance was good as a deputation from the teachers' society pointed out to the Sunday school committee;

'the constant attention of the teacher's society has insured .... such an attendance of scholars that on average less than forty out of upwards of five hundred boys have been latterly absent each Sunday.'(2)

It might be argued that this statement could be exaggerated to justify

the value of the teachers' society. However, a reading of the minute books and other evidence of the progress of the schools, suggests that

the teachers were straightforward and honest in their reports, and this

comment accurately reflected the state of the school.

The records of the other denominations are somewhat sparse. Carrs

Lane Sunday schools were expanding, and during the period formed several branch schools. The minutes, however, did not record attendances or numbers on books until 1832. It seems the schools flourished for there was a steady influx of new admissions, though the crucial factor in reliably estimating the school's success, the number leaving, was unrecorded.

In 1806 there is little doubt that Dissenting Sunday school education was flourishing. The Anglican Sunday school report for that year noted

(1) Figures given monthly 1824 onwards in NMSS Mins.

(2) NMSS Mins., 5.1-27. - 201 -

of the Dissenting Sunday Schools

''-L'hese Establishments are rapidly extending . . .'(l)

Of the other denominations only scattered evidence has been found. This shows that amongst others the Baptists in Cannon Street and Congregational-

ists at the Ebenezer Chapel had growing Sunday schools, several

denominations also running week-day evening schools. Thus although

definite figures are not available there is considerable evidence of

the continuation and expansion of Dissenting Sunday education. This

progress stands out in marked contrast to the Anglican and Lancasterian

efforts, particularly with the former.

IV

The early nineteenth century Anglican church was faced with the

paradox that at a time when they were putting more effort and money into

elementary education than ever before, and the number of Church of

England affiliated schools was growing, the Anglican percentage share

of education was falling. The working class were not taking up the offer of education. Why was this?

It is perhaps stating the obvious to say that the Anglican church

was not providing in its schools the type of education wanted by the

working class. Yet this would seem to be the straightforward answer.

The Anglican position in society up to 1828 was still firmly rooted in

its connection with the Establishment. The recurrent crises for the

bourgeoisie of the time - Napoleonic Wars, trade crises, incipient reform

movements, infidelity, Catholic emancipation, served to keep many of the

(l) AG. 20.10.06. - 202 - social aims for education well to the fore of their minds. A stable, subordinate society was still one, if not the aim of the Anglican elite,

The stress on the importance of subordination was reflected in the development of the National Schools. This theme was expounded by the

Rev. Dr. Outram, (Rector of St. Philips) in a sermon he delivered

entitled 'Fear God: Honor the King'. In urging support for the local

Anglican schools he noted that the school would inculcate the rising generation with principles which would help them towards virtue and piety, and he stressed

'the necessary connexion there is betwixt the fear of God and those habits of subordination, so essential to the well-being and maintenance of society. f (l)

Education was seen as a preservative, a means of maintaining the

existing power balance. By acting as a clamp on vice, delinquency and

infidel behaviour, the moral and social state of the country would be

saved. The fear of the bourgeois elite was of the idleness of the

labouring classes and what might result from this. Without Sunday

schools, according to the committee, on the one free day of the week, working class children would be

'exposed to ruinous temptations to spend the Sunday in Idleness, or more probably in dissolute or wicked Employments.'(2)

The growing working class unrest of 1817-20 was evidenced in

Birmingham with meetings on Newhall Hill, marches and pamphlets. In face of this danger, the Lancasterian school, as shown earlier, urged its usefulness as a social adhesive; the Anglican Sunday schools responded

(1) AC. 25.5.12.

(2) AG. 4.12.15. - 203 - in like manner. These, their committee argued, were needed to stem a rising juvenile delinquency, which was fostered by the

'wide and unexampled Circulation of the most seditious demoralizing and impious Doctrines'.(l)

The previous year the committee had argued that religious instruction had never been more important than at this present time

'when desperate and designing Men are unceasingly employed in Endeavours to bring into Contempt, and to overthrow every Thing which, as Men and as Christians, we are bound to venerate and support.'(2)

The value of Anglican education in stifling social upheaval and creating a "happy and secure" country was stressed by the Rev. Dr.

Gardner. He argued the necessity for the Clergy to act to protect the country through a preservation of religion, a defence of the Church and

Faith, and also through the medium of education. He asserted that one could see in the upheavals and complicated bearings of the time

'the evils either of inadequate instruction or of an education conducted on the loose and liberal principles of some modern teachers.'

It was necessary to guide youth on the right path and to give them right principles - this was the clergy's job. The only thing which had saved

England during the French Revolution and Napoleonic upheavals

'arose from those deep-rooted, fundamental principles of right, from those steady notions of honor,of integrity, of virtuous perseverance, and of Religion;' and for these, Rev. Gardner noted, the indebtedness was to the English

(1) AC. 25.12.20.

(2) AG. 6.12.19. - 204 -

Anglican clergy, (1)

The stress placed by Anglicans on the value of education was

naturally paralleled -with a proviso that the education must of necessity

be Anglican in its belief and content. In arguing that education

preserved society there was no doubt that it was the Anglican dominated

society which was to be preserved - the Establishment. This view was

summed up by Robert Southey when he stated that children must be taught to fear God and keep his commandments:

•Mere reading and writing will not do this: they must be instructed according to the established religion; they must be fed with the milk of sound doctrine, for states are secure in proportion as the great body of the people are attached to the institutions of their country .... Give us the great boon of parochial education so connected with the Church as to form part of the Establishment, and we shall find it a bulwark of the State as well as to the Church. 1 (2)

It has been argued by T.¥. Laqueur that by the l820's Sunday schools

had very largely become working class dominated in terms of organization,

teacher and pupil appointment, admission, and finance. ' This argument is not substantiated by the evidence available of the Birmingham Anglican

Sunday schools. In 1815 the Deritend and Bordesley Sunday schools noted that to be accepted into their schools a child had to be recommended by a subscriber. They also noted that the only reward the subscribers wanted was to see the children

(1) Rev. L. Gardner, A Sermon Preached at the Anniversary Meeting of the Stewards of the Sons of the Clergy, l8l?, (l8l8), p.xiv.Rev. Gardner was Rector at St. Philips in Birmingham, (1821-1844).

(2) Best, Temporal Pillars, p,157j quoting a letter from Southey to William Smith.

(3) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.94. - 205 -

'good and happy .... sober and industrious. . . . loyal and humble.'(l)

A further refutation of Laqueur's view comes from the 'Rules and Regulations' of the Anglican Sunday schools as published in 1823, rules which applied to all Birmingham Sunday schools. In these the general committee (all

Birmingham clergy resident in Birmingham, Church and Chapel Wardens and

Sidesmen plus three gentlemen from each church or chapel) were given wide powers. These included control of finance, location of schools, payment of teacher salaries, details of curriculum, and the power

'to appoint or remove the Teachers, and give them such directions as they may think fit.'(2)

Working class autonomy would hardly have been likely to flourish in such

an atmosphere.

The failure of Anglican schooling to appeal to the working class was

clearly shown in the schools' attendance and enrollment rates. The

problem of pupils leaving Anglican schools to gain a wider curriculum at

a Dissenting school continued into this period. A speech by Rev. Dr.

Outram, Rector of St. Philip's commented that

'Instances have occurred of children being taken away from the Sunday schools of the Establishment, in which writing and arithmentic are not taught, to Dissenting Schools which have offe*ed these advantages.'(3)

Was the curriculum of Anglican schools as limited as is suggested by the reports of parents removing children to other schools to gain the

(1) Darwall, Sunday School Address, p.6.

(2) Rules and Regulations for the Management of the Sunday Schools Connected with the Established Church in Birmingham, (Birmingham, 1823?) Rule 2.

(3) AC. 16.3.12. - 206 - benefit of instruction in writing and arithmetic? Certainly the Sunday

schools hardly ventured into therealmsof the "3 R's", beyond the first"H"

of reading. The Deritend and Bordesley Sunday schools in 1815 noted that no writing would be taught on Sunday

•because to teach writing and accounts on a Sunday, is certainly a violation of God's Sabbath.'(l)

This was true for all the Anglican Sunday schools, though several taught writing in the week, as did Deritend and Bordesley. The boys' National School taught the 3 R's, though in common with most National schools the

girls were only instructed in reading, knitting and sewing - and a selected few in writing. This was representative of the usual bias against girls learning writing or arithmetic. A certain amount of "industrial" work was included for the girls, involving the making of their own clothes and clothes for the school clothing fund where they were sold to the boys. The main stress in both schools was religious knowledge, a branch of education in which

'the advance of the Children is always greater than in other branches 1 .(2)

The other Anglican schools - Blue Coat and King Edward's folbwed a similar curriculum pattern, the boys learning the 3 R's, the girls reading and household skills. It would seem that the main curriculum limitations were in the Sunday schools.

It was not just the curriculum that caused working class parental preference to change from school to school. A National Society report

(1) Darwall, Sunday School Address, p.11.

(2) NSAR, 1818, Birmingham report. - 207 - from Birmingham commented that many lower order parents, who were nominal Church of England, did not choose to send their children to the

National School. They were

'rather influenced in their choice by the advantages of clothing, &c, which are offered in different Schools, than by the particular System of Religious Instruction which is pursued in them.'(l)

The suggestion of an element of bribery by non Church of England schools in attempting to attract a clientele, is matched by elements of Anglican •bribery 1 . The Deritend and Bordesley Sunday schools offered that •Your sons will be taught to read, and if they behave well, to write also,'(2)

The National School encouraged parents to keep their children at the school through a clothing fund which provided good (?) cheap clothing for the children. Indeed Rule VI of the fund could have been very instrumental in keeping children longer at the school - it stated that if

'Children are removed, without the permission of the Committee, before the End of the Year, or are expelled for gross Misconduct, the Whole of the Sums subscribed will be forfeited.'(3)

It was not surprising then that during the years up to 1828, a time of developing working class self-awareness, that the Anglican schools were not better supported. Their particular social viewpoint, the compulsory attendance at Anglican worship on which they insisted and the nature of the education that they offered, were not calculated to win acceptance from a working class that was developing its own ideas and inititives, and could find alternatives more suited to its tastes.

(1) Ibid.

(2) Darwall, Sunday School Address, p.11.

(3) BNSAR. 1818. - 208 -

One obvious alternative in the early nineteenth century to the

Anglican day school system was the Lancasterian system. This did not fare much better than the Anglican, and its progress was similar to that of the National school; though its enrolment/attendance was higher and more consistent overall. (Cf. Tables 34 and 36). The discussion of the

Lancasterian school suggested that it had less positive disincentives to working class participation than the National School. There was no emphasis on subordination or loyalty, though stress was laid on social stablility and the preservation of property. There was a certain freedom of choice in matters of religion, in that the choice of the church or

Dissenting chapel to be used on the Sunday was left to the parents of the working class child; but, a choice had to be made as attendance at religious worship or Sunday school was compulsory for all Lancasterian pupils.

It has been argued that the Lancasterian movement was representative of a newer middle class position which combined elements of Political

Economy^ Evangelicalism and Radicalism, the Lancasterian central committee with such men as James Mill, Francis Place and Henry Brougham being illustrative of this. It might be argued that because of this the Lancasterian providers were closer to understanding the needs and wants of the working class. This would seem to be only marginally true for Birmingham. For not only was the curriculum in the school fairly limited to the 3 R's, but the committee members were not particularly radical as the earlier discussion on committee and supporter membership showed. Where their views tended towards a more liberal approach it was very much a comparative affair - more liberal than the Anglicans, but not approaching the more radical formulations of educational possibilitie:

(l) Simon, Studies, ppl/]8-50. - 209 -

In considering the Lancasterian school it was said that there were less positive disincentives to working class participation than in the

Anglican sphere. It should also be added that the Lancasterian school had few positive incentives for attracting working class children.

Consequently although the school was generally fairly full, it never developed or expanded.

As the figures already examined have shown, the real success story up to 1828 was the Dissenting Sunday schools and their spread and proliferation. However, it was not just the multiplicity of sects forming their own schools which accounted for the rising Dissenting figure; there was a dymanic in several of the congregations causing their own particular schools to flourish and expand. What was this dynamic? Was it that these schools were the ones to provide, in terms of curriculum, discipline and social theory, what the working class wanted? And further, were they doing this, as Laqueur suggesls, because they had become working class institutions?

The Unitarian Old and New Meeting Societies Sunday schools were perhaps in this period the most successful in terms of increasing their size and seemingly corresponding to working class desires. Few details of the New Meeting schools have survived for this period, but some clues are to be found. The organizational model of a congregation committee overlooking the finance and external administration of the school while the teachers controlled the details of admission, curriculum, attendance, etc., continued as in the earlier period. In l8l8 because of irregularity in the attendance of boys and teachers, the teachers decided to form the

'New Meeting Sunday School Teachers' Society 1 . The duties of this society were to

'receive and admit scholars, to subdivide the classes, to regulate the attendance both of teachers and nupils, - 210 -

to inquire into the various causes of absence, and to make such regulations from time to time as the exigencies of the School might require.'(l)

By this formation it was hoped to provided a steadier control of the school. This listing of the Society's duties was recorded in the

Committee Minutes from a statement presented by a deputation from the

Teacher's Society. This deputation noted what they had done in the previous eight to nine years and stated that their work had ensured a regular attendance of teachers and a vastly improved one of boys.

The reason for the deputation shows how relatively independant the teachers were. They were asking for the dismissal of the superintendent

^appointed by the main committee) arguing it was not necessary to replace him. The teachers arguments seem to have won as the Superintendant (2) resigned and was not replaced. '

The Old Meeting Sunday Schools also founded a teacher's society known as the 'Old Meeting Sunday School Friendly Society', though this was founded earlier in 1810. This society was formed to provide very similar services to that of the New Meeting Teacher's Society. It also aimed to afford instruction for its own members; each monthly meeting had two papers read to it by members which they had written and prepared themselves.

'The subjects for improvement shall be Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, or whatever may be generally useful to a Manufacturer, or as furnishing principles for active benevolence & integrity.'(3)

(1) NMSS Mins., 5-1-2?.

(2) Ibid.

(3) OMFS. Mins., Article 12, 24.6.10. - 211 -

The rules regulating the teachers stressed respectability, one of them noted that any disgraceful behaviour at the society, or elsewhere, would lead to possible censure of the individual concerned by the society.

The teachers were almost certainly all members of the working classes - very few names have been identified in trade directories suggesting that they or their occupations are not of a high enough standing to warrent inclusion. Of the two positively identified, one was a private school master in Old Meeting Street, one of the poorer areas of the town; the other was a "manufacturer of all kinds of spectacles" of Cross Street, again a poor area. In considering teacher occupation it should be remembered that most of the teachers were very young, in their late teens or early twenties, very often becoming teachers on leaving the school.

Certainly no teachers have recognizable relationships with the notable

Unitarian families. Further evidence of teacher occupation is found in the short biographical sketch of each teacher which was written on his leaving the society. Of those whose occupations were mentioned, several seem to have been apprenticed, though the detail of which trade was not noted. One entry noted that a teacher

'by his absconding from the Town without acquainting either his parents, or his Master, to whom he was an apprentice. . . .' was to be expelled. ' Other entries refer to the teachers working in

Manufactories or being 'in close confinement during the week |X ' presumably the latter also referring to a workshop or factory.

The actual teaching was very much controlled by the teachers as Rule

6 of their society's resolutions noted; the teachers

(1) Ibid. 28.11.24.

(2) Ibid. 24.9.20. - 212 -

'shall adopt such methods for instruction in their respective classes as they may think proper.'(l)

The school was divided into three classes in 1809, for reading, writing and the third for accounting. These in their turn had several teachers and smaller groups within them. The three classes were quite separate, and teachers like the boys started with the reading class before moving on upwards to writing and accounting. There was also a superior class for what were in effect trainee teachers. In 1813 it was resolved by the teachers that

'in future no boy be advanced into the writing or arithmetic classes untill he has undergone an examination before this Society.'(2)

A superintendent from within the ranks of the teachers was elected each year to "govern" the school and report on and reprimand, where necessary, the teachers. This was done regularly and conscientiously each month. In 1815 the Superintendent wrote in the minutes about the irregular attendance and lateness of some teachers -

'regular and early attendance to the business of the Day is indispensably necessary to the good management of their classes.'(3)

The impression gained from a reading of these minutes in regard to their references to teacher absenteeism, or lateness is that by and large the majority were steady and dependable and only a few untrustworthy in their work. Teachers who proved consistently unreliable were dismissed as in the case of Thomas Slater, who

'on arriving at the age when we too frequently

(1) Ibid. 26.11.09.

(2) Ibid. 27.6.13.

(3) Ibid. 29.1.15. - 213 -

observe young men forgetting Sunday school duties & attending to other pursuits, he began to be neglectful. f (l)

The minutes also record discussions and decisions taken about altering teaching methods or content. In 1819 the superintendent wondered if it might not be beneficial to introduce dictation to the writing class in the manner that the "superior" class had had for several years:

'It not only exercises the memory quite as much but it also calls into action the reasoning power of the pupil in a more decided manner than can be done by teaching spelling upon the old principle. •(2)

The superintendent in 1823 suggested as a means to overcome teacher absenteeism that an extra teacher per class be employed. This would enable a rota system to be employed giving teachers a Sunday off once every so often. This was approved, put into practice and seemed to work well and successfully. '

Discipline also lay within the hands of the teachersj Several times the various Superintendents warned against over use of corporal punishment.

'Some of our teachers have resource too frequently to Coercive Measures .... generally speaking, reason and persuasion will effect more lasting and useful impressions than the rod.'(4)

The trouble with too much corporal punishment was that it

(1) Ibid, 28.9.23.

(2) Ibid. 25.4.19.

(3) Ibid. 27.7.23.

(4) Ibid. 31.10.19. - 214 -

'hardens the boys and makes them more stubborn'.(l)

There were difficulties to be faced in Sunday school teaching, and this the superintende.nt and his fellow teachers appreciated. In 1822, one superintendent, in suggesting that more teachers should go to the Meeting with the boys to help maintain discipline, noted that

'The restraint which is to be obtained over youths .... who have so much liberty 6 days out of 7 cannot be great, they must be under the eye of the Teacher if they are to be kept strictly in order.'(2)

The effective control and organization of the Unitarian Sunday

schools was thus vested in working class teachers, and it seems probable

that this was a major factor in their success. They provided a more

relevant education in a manner more acceptable because it was taught by

people of the same class as the clientele. A working man wrote to the

teacher's society in 1821:

Gentlemen

I respectfully return you my most humble thanks, for the Education my Son has received from your kind and laudible institution for near eight years, and .... from your kind & strict attention towards him .... I shall ever remember your benevolence with the greatest esteem & regard.

Josh Pitt Snr. (3)

The Carrs Lane Congregational Sunday schools provide the other regularly documented Sunday School. The minutes, however, though regularly recorded are not very informative. The minute book started in 1812, some years after the school has been founded and commenced uith details of a reformed set of school rules. The school was organized on

(1) Ibid. 29.10.20.

(2) Ibid. 28.7.22.

(3) Ibid. 30.9.21. - 215 - a stricter basis than the Unitarian schools. There was no teachers 1 committee, control of the schools being vested in a committee of ten brethren, the minister and the treasurer. Every month one committee % member was to visit the boys' school:

'He will see that the Business of the School is properly conducted; take opportunities of speaking to and catechising the Children, both individually and collectively at the Quaiberly Examination, and by his active co-operation with the Teachers endeavour to diffuse that Christian zeal and attention to order and subordination which are so essential to the Prosperity of this Institution.'(l)

The general committee had the power of admitting and dismissing children, and deciding the total number of children to be in the school. It was resolved at the same meeting that the teachers should be appointed from those belonging to the Church or Congregation who offered themselves and were approved by the committee. The system of education to be used was that of "Mr Lancaster" and the children were expected to attend Carrs Lane meeting once every Lord's Day.

There was little opportunity for Carrs Lane teachers to exercise much discretion or initiative as the effective control of the school lay with the committee. Although the committee was not overall of the same social status as those of the Unitarians and Anglicans, as Table 30 has shown, there was a considerable big bourgeoisie element on the committee; Carrs Lane schools were not controlled by the working class.

How far was the curriculum likely to appeal to the working classes? It was certainly far more limited than the Unitarian schools. The aim of the Carrs Lane Sunday schools was

(1) CL.Mins. 31-7-12. - 216 -

'to train up the Children of the Poor in the Principles of the Gospel and to teach them to read and write.'

How far writing was taught must be a little uncertain. There is no doubt that writing was down on the timetable, though not for the girls who spelt while the boys wrote; and it was also noted that teachers would take reading and writing alternatively, changing every other Sabbath.

However, Rev. J.A. James, the minister at Carrs Lane, is often cited as being one of the leaders of the anti-writing on Sundays faction. In his 'Sunday School Teacher's Guide 1 James noted that writing was not essential for the poor, and quoted the use of evening schools for such work,

It is thus surprising to find in the plan drawn up by the committee

(including James) the following timetabling:-

'Boys. 1st Lesson from conclusion of prayer to 9.45. 1 part each section reading 2 part writing. 2nd Lesson to 10.15 2 part reading 1 part writing.'

There is also another section at the end of the plan marked 'Writing 1 .

This states that those judged by the committee to be deserving will have writing in the week, boys one evening and girls another. Whether this was extra to what was in the timetable for Sunday is not clear. ' In 1823 the superintendants of the Bordesley branch school applied for leave to teach their children to write - this was granted - but again it is unclear whether this was to be on the Sunday or mid-week. It does seem that no writing on Sunday stereotype which is attached to some individuals and some sects may not have been so firm in the practice as it was in the theory.

How much did this curriculum appeal to the working class? The

(l) Ibid. 31.7.12$ Cf. Laqueur, Sunday Schools, p.127. - 217 - probabilities are that the 2 R f s it offered were wanted by many working class children. The apparant success of the school suggests that enough children were attracted by what it had to offer. As far as can be ascertained both pupils and teachers were from the working class.

In 1823 Mr. Pritchard, one of the committee, suggested two ex-pupils as teachers for the Bordesley school, following the pattern of Unitarian and other Sunday schools. The origin of pupils was clearly reflected in the Carrs Lane minute books, as the names and addresses of all those admitted were given. Although no parental occupation was quoted, the street locations firmly place the children as coming from working class areas.

As already suggested the amount of detail available from other

Dissenting Sunday schools is sparse. That which has survived bears out many of the conclusions drawn above. There is evidence of a fairly wide curriculum at the Ebenezer Sunday school; it^s rules of 1814 gave the object of the school as training the poor in the principles of the

Gospel, and teaching them reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic.

The Ebenezer Chapel also had an evening writing school, but it was only for those who had no opportunity of attending a day school. This evening school was quite ambitious for apart from teaching a plain and intelligible style of writing, the first four simple and compound rules of arithmetic were on the syllabus. This church had seceded from Carrs

Lane in 1798, but from all available evidence it would seem that the congregation, teachers and scholars were from a very similar background to their Carrs Lane counterparts. Though at the Ebenezer school there was a teacher organization to control teaching etc., whilst the chapel's school committee was concerned with finance and admissions/dismissals.

(l) Baker, Ebenezer S3, pp.88 ff. - 218 -

The Baptist church in Cannon Street was very much more a working class institution, both in leadership and membership. ' It had new

Sunday schools built in 1806 in a three storey building. Considerable community life seemed to develop around this school; in 1813 for example the Cannon Street Benefit Society was formed, and for payments of -g-d. per week a return of 2/- a week could be had if a contributor was sick. (2) This was limited to pupils and teachers only. ' Schemes of this nature seem to have been a part of several Dissenting Sunday schools though little has been found of a similar nature in the earlier years of this period in Anglican schools. The aim of the Cannon St Baptist school was to "improve the morals and improve the comfort of the rising generation."* '

The latter sentiment being a most unusual formulation using the word "comfort".

A large discrepancy can be seen between the success of Dissenting

Sunday schools and the failure of Anglican schooling to expand. As already suggested, this Anglican failure was due in part to its not providing what the working class wanted; it also seems that its failure to attract was partly because it was seen as being anti-working class.

This latter was perhaps embodied in the strenuous persecution of the growing radicalism of the period, for there was a considerable correlation between radicalism and the working class in Birmingham.

The early nineteenth century was a period of growing working class consciousness and emerging artisan radicalism. ' R.B. Rose has charted

(1) Ram, Five Dissenting Communities, pp.69-71«

(2) Hale, Cannon St. S3., p.4.

(3) Ibid, p.4.

(4) Cf. Thompson, f!n'-in^; Trygve Tholfsen, Working Class Radicalism in Mid-Victorian England, (1976) pp.25-78. - 219 -

the change in Birmingham from the late eighteenth century "Church and King" mob, to the situation in I8l6 when

•The radical and even revolutionary spirit of the Birmingham "lower classes" . . . seems . . . established."(l)

and a detailed study of artisan radicalism in Birmingham has noted its (r>\ emergence during the years 1815-1820. v ' It would seem that there was a fairly close connection between the artisan radicals and the working class in Birmingham, of which the artisan grouping was a major element. ' Olive Behagg has noted how this emergent radicalism was motivated by artisans, and how its leader, George Edmonds, was typical of the artisan class which made up the majority of his following. ' The nature of this artisan radicalism was based on the existing moral code of the artisan, \ what Tholfsen has called the 'ethic of respectability 1 . This involved, in a correlation of middle class and working class values, working for reform within the existing social framework in a "legal" and respectable way. This was seen in both the Union Society and Mechanic's Institute.

The years 1815-20 saw a series of incidents in Birmingham in which the working class radicalism of the artisans was harried by the Tory- Anglican elite, many of whom were prominent in school provision. The Birmingham Hampden Club was soon under pressure after its foundation in 1816, and local magistrates threatened publicans with the loss of their

(1) Rose, 'Origins of Radicalism', p.10. (2) Behagg, Artisan Radicalism, p.l.

(3) Trygve R. Tholfsen, 'The Artisan and Culture of Early Victorian Birmingham 1 , University of Birmingham Historical Journal, Vol. IV, (1953-4), P.149. (4) Behagg, Artisan Radicalism, pp.1 and 26. (5) Ibid, pp.26-32. - 220 - licenses if they housed it. Agitation for Parliamentary reform was growing, and during the years 1817-1819 several major meetings were called by the artisan radicals which received tremendous support from the working

class of the area. (2)' According to Tholfsen, these great demonstrations

'constituted the visible expression of a solidly based grass-roots movement ... , f (3)

The Birmingham Union Society was formed two days after Peterloo, its aim

'the restoration of human happiness.'(4)

In November 1819 Edmonds led 400 men of the Union Society to Christ Church

in a demonstration (silent) against the Rev. J.H. Spry, an

'eminent reactionary clergyman and magistrate'(5)

and also the secretary of the national school. The sermon preached on

this occasion by Rev. Spry was entitled 'The Duty of Obedience to

Established Government'; the response of the Union Society was a mass

silent exit on its conclusion. At the same time, Rev. Burn, frequently

chairman of the Sunday schools, delivered a sermon calling for the

subjection of the individual to lawful authority.

The opposition to artisan radicalism stemmed from the Tory "Pitt

Club", of which the most prominent members were William Hamper J.P.,

Theodore Price J.P., and George Barker all of whom were King Edward's

(1) Ibid. p.11.

(2) AG. 27.1.17; 19-7.19. (3) Tholfsen, Working Class Radicalism, p.49.

(4) Behagg, Artisan Radicalism, p.l8.

(5) Ibid, p.19. - 221 -

Governors; and from the "Society for the Refutation and Supression of Blasphemy and Sedition" in which Barker and Rev. Spry were active, as well as Rev. John Moore of the National School Committee. These two organizations worked a major campaign against the radicals instigating many prosecutions for libel and sedition by which several Birmingham artisan radicals were imprisoned. After one bookseller, Joseph Russell, had been imprisoned for selling Hone's "Parody", Lord Sidmouth wrote to William Bedford J.P., and King Edward's Governor,

'The result of Russell's trial will, I trust, operate as an encouragement to magistrates. . . .'(l)

The strength of this mainly Anglican-Tory reaction occurred because they realised they were facing a political grouping which had become impervious to their "assertive paternalism".

Apart from this Anglican attack on the growing working class radicalism other aspects of the behaviour of the Anglican hierarchy would have proved unacceptable to the working class. Perhaps the most important of all being the growing Sabbatarianism which the Anglican church, through its connections with "authority" was able to make attempts at enforcement.

As early as 1798 complaints of the abuse of the Sabbath had been noted in Aris's Gazette - Sunday trading, drinking during Divine Service and the playing of unlawful sports and pastimes were all strongly criticised. (2)

It was decreed that anyone found breaking the Sabbath laws would lose any parochial relief to which he was entitled; this decree was signed by most of the Anglican clergy, the local magistrates and the Church and

Chapel Wardens - the Anglican elite. Here, and in other similar

(1) Ibid, p.75-

(2) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol.11, p.85. - 222 -

Sabbatarian measures, was action clearly directed against the working

classes who were not participating in the bourgeois Sabbath, and who

had very valid reasons for "breaking" the Sabbath Laws. This was part

of the general attack on working class habits and culture which was

outlined in the last chapter, and which continued in this period.

The participation of many of the Anglican school providers - in

particular clergy and magistrates - in the anti working class actions

outlined was considerable. Petitions against reform and radicals,

enrollments in local associations against felons, or blasphemy and

sedition, and in volunteer groups ( such as the special constables formed

following a riot in I8l6)> all reveal a large participation by school

providers. This political activity of many of the school providers and the particular emphases of Anglican education already discussed were

probably responsible for discouraging many working class parents from letting their children attend Anglican schools.

The contrasting success of Dissenting Sunday schooling seems to come from their closer contact with the working class. These schools in varying degrees had much more working class influence affecting them in their organization and operation, and this may have helped their appeal by creating a community sense to which working class parents and children could relate. The success of Dissent may also be related to its strength and status in Birmingham. The Anglican church seems to have been on the defensive, Dissent almost the "Establishment". A visitor to the Quaker

Lloyds noted that Birmingham had

'a latitudinarianism in religion and politics .... It is a perfectly dissenting republican place .... The poor Church . . (Anglican ) . . alone seems the object of prejudice and animosity .... ! (l)

(1) Humphrey Lloyd, The Quaker Lloyds in the Industrial Revolution, (1975), P.244. - 223 -

Two other factors which hampered schooling expansion during this and the earlier period should be mentioned. The first was the haphazard and unorganized philanthropy which backed many of the schooling ventures.

The committee records and minutes frequently reveal a lack of attention

being paid to the business of schooling, in particular, the inability to

hold frequent and well attended committee meetings. The King Edward's Governors met on average 9 times a year from 1798-1804, and 6 times a

year from 1805-1828, including inquorate meetings; and as Chapter 2 revealed both the Blue Coat and King Edward's school removed committee

members for non-attendance. The levels of participation and activity

in the Unitarian Teachers' Societies stand out in marked contrast.

The financing of schools was similarly haphazard, with the exception of the well endowed King Edward's schools. The foundation of the

monitorial schools involved large capital outlays with income limited

to donations and subscriptions. Their annual reports both mentioned the

need to pay off debts, but noted the difficulty of this when one year's

income was only sufficient for running expenses. The presence of debt

and lack of extra capital made expansion and development difficult. This situation was exacerbated by a lack of active financial commitment from individuals, societies or the state. Sanderson has shown for Lancashire how lack of financial funding reduced the education on offer.^ '

The other factor which militated against the successful development

and expansion of education was economic. This will be considered again

in Chapter 8. It will suffice for the present to say that children

were employed at an ea.riy a^e and therefore did not stay at school for

long. The National School in 1819 noted a fy.ll in its numbers partly

(1) Sanderson, 'The . . . Societies in Lancashire', p.16. - 224 - due to "the increased demand for children's labour". ' The Sunday school committee in 1825 noted that

'the generally improved state of trade has called into employment a large proportion of children of both sexes. . . . '(2)

Again, the Lancasterian school noted in 1821 that more children than usual had left to go to work 'a satisfactory Circumstance which has arisen out of the Improvement of Trade. 1 (3)

To a certain extent trade fluctuations and the extent of employment will have militated against the expansion of schools, though it should be remembered that this would only affect day schools and would not affect Anglican more than Lancasterian.

(1) BNSAR, 1819. (2) AG. 28.2.252B.2.25. (3) AG. 17.12.21. -225-

CHAPTER 6.

TRENDS IN AKGLICAK HIOVISION 1829-1851

'I can do nothing without schools f . (l)

Perhaps the most notable feature of schooling provision shown in the tables and figures of Chapter 2 was the expansion of Anglican schooling in Birmingham between 1829 and 1851. This represented a considerable acceleration in comparison to the earlier rates of provision. This expansion was not just in terms of new schools and increased attendance, but was also seen in the development of ideas and theories concerning schooling, including a growing criticism of monitorialism. There was a consequent development and change in methods of schooling, the nature of which is considered in Part A of this chapter. The various sections of Part A will consider methods of teaching, curriculum content, discipline, the teachers, and conclude with a brief index of other provision.

It is possible that the sources of change in Birmingham schooling did not necessarily emanate from within the town itself, but were the result of external pressures. This proposition is considered in Part B through a consideration of the changing nature of committee membership, as outlined in Chapter 3, also through an examination of the role of Evangelicalism in the town. This second part of the chapter concludes by asking whether the providing intentions apparent in the schooling of the earlier periods continued, or whether the overall emphasis in schooling had changed.

(1) NSLF, St. Matthews 23.10.40. - 226 -

PART A. The Nature of the Change in Anglican Schooling

Although the main growth of provision was in day schooling, as the previous figures suggest, considerable stress was still being laid on the value, importance and development of Sunday schooling. The 1832 report of St. George's Sunday Schools noted that

•every year brings, to the reflective mind, a deeper conviction of the importance of religious instruction .... SUNDAY SCHOOLS are of vast importance in this respect.*(l)

The clergy of St. Mary's twelve years later wrote to the National Society to support their claim for more money for their Sunday Schools:

'the real amount of instruction given to the Children of the Poor in this town is given on the Sunday, not in the week. Hence the importance of increased accommodation for Sunday Schools.'

This view was supported by the rural dean, who stressed

'the immense importance, in such places as this, of Sunday schools:- the only means of bringing the masses of children into any sort of contact with a church.'(2)

The local diocesan Bishop Eyder put considerable value on Sunday education, and in his charge for 1832 clearly stated this;

'The want of a Sunday School .... excites, I confess, in my mind, an apprehension of some ministerial defect.'(3)

(1) NSLF. St. George's Sunday and Infant School Report, 1832.

(2) NSLF. St. Mary. 20.8.44; 30.9.44.

(3) Bishop Ryder, A Charge Addressed to the Clergy of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry at his Third Visitation, Au/rust 1832, (l832),p.33. - 227 -

The form of the curriculum in Anglican Sunday Schools changed during the raid-century years. Religious instruction had always been paramount in Anglican Sunday school education, but the yerrs 1828-1851 saw a further strengthening of this position, with the tendency to remove any aspect of education that had secular connections; though it was conceded that some elements of secular knowledge could elucidate the understanding of the Bible. In 1845 the Birmingham Quaker community opened a Sunday school which in its curriculum on Sunday taught writing. The local

Anglican incumbant, the Rev. E. Bird of St. Thomas's, was very much opposed to this. In common with other Evangelicals the Rev. Bird was a strict

Sabbatarian. In a letter to the Quakers he stated that though he rejoiced in plans for diffusing the knowledge of the word of God, he felt

'bound to protest against any plan by which the obligations of the Lord's day will be lowered . . . instruction in writing is so intirely a secular matter .... and that neither of necessity or charity that I feel the promoters of this scheme are clearly breaking that command which requires us to keep the Sabbath day holy.'(l)

By the early 1850*3 many clergy considered Sunday schools as inappropriate places for the teaching of elementary dcills - even reading.

The Rev. P. Morse, incumbent of Ladywood, noted during a course of lectures given by Birmingham clergymen to Sunday school teachers, that

'The Sunday School does not seem to me the proper place to teach little children to read .... there are so many good schools now, that there can be no excuse for a child's coming to a Sunday School without being able to read.'(2)

(1) Rev. E. Bird, Letter to Committee of Severn Street School, Oct. 17th 1845, (Manuscript), in manuscript collection at Bull Street Friends Meeting House, Birmingham. Letter in first minute book of Severn Street First Day Friends School.

(2) A Course of Lectures to Sunday School Teachers by Seven Glerfymen of Birmingham,(Birmingham,l854)> P»58. - 228 -

The accuracy of Rev. Morse's statement is not being questioned here,

what it does show is the growing feeling that secular education belonged

in the day schools. The Rev. Stenton Eardley echoed this view when, in

the same course of lectures, he argued that Sunday schools profaned the

Sabbath by teaching weekday subjects. The object of Sunday schools he

said was religion - they were a mission for Christ, their object being

to christianize and convert, not to humanize and socialize. ' This

view of the proselytising nature of Sunday schools' work, rather than

their educational work, being of prime importance, was also stressed by

Revs. Lea, and Cockin. They stated in their contributions to the

lectures that the object of Sunday schools was to promote the glory of

God and to work for the salvation of immortal souls. Rev. Cockin felt

that day school teachers should cultivate the intellect and advance

secular knowledge whilst the Sunday school teacher attended to the soul, (2) teaching and explaining about the Bible. '

This change in the emphasis in Sunday school curriculum was linked

to a change in the tone and attitude adopted towards the education of

poorer children. The authoritarian approach of the early nineteenth

century which threatened the wrath of God on parents and children avoiding

Sunday school, and which exhorted parents to do all they could to ensure

that their children always had 'the fear of God before their eyes 1 , '

changed to a stress for the need for love and kindness to be part of the

pupil-teacher relationship. In the lectures referred to above, the Rev.

J.B. Marsden, felt that Sunday schools should breathe a spirit of love

and tenderness, the discipline for Sunday schools being the Christian

(1) Ibid, pp.125-7.

(2) Ibid, pp.9-12 and 39-

(3) Darwall, Sunday School Address, p.17. - 229 - discipline, the discipline of love. Through this approach of kindness and firmness the Sunday school teacher would

'infuse life - spiritual life - into the children «... this . . . (was) . . . the distinguishing feature of a Sunday school - to educate children for heaven and for God.'(l)

The concern of a Sunday school teacher, Rev. Marsden argued, was for the children's souls, and to achieve his ends he must have order and attention which meant discipline. This in its turn meant firmness

- but, the teacher also needed kindness for discipline. Marsden recommended that the teachers should get to know the children and visit (2) their homes and parents. ' Similar advice was given by Rev. J.C.

Barratt of St. Mary's, who, in talking of the influence of teachers on scholars and their parents, noted that love begets love and that the

Sunday school teacher should aim to command respect but win affection.

He recommended teachers to be affectionate in and out of school. ' In line with this idea, Rev. Marsden noted that corporal punishment should be avoided/ 4 '

The nature of day schooling also underwent a change in Birmingham by 1851. As Fig. 1 shows, the National Society network of day schools rapidly expanded in Birmingham after 1828, particularly in the late l830's and 1840's. For a considerable time, however, these new National Schools continued with the methods and curriculum established by the early monitorial schools. In 1840 the Worcester Diocesan Inspector of the

National Society, the Rev. E. Feild, reported on Birmingham National Schools

(1) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.114.

(2) Ibid, pp.115-18. (3) Ibid, p.94. (4) Ibid, pp.118-24. - 230 - and noted that all the schools he visited were conducted on the monitorial pattern. ' The details he provided of the 'Subjects of Instruction 1 showed that there had been little expansion of the curriculum since the early years, the majority of schools being limited to 3 R's, and the more elementary parts of those. As Table 38 shows, the majority of children were not involved with 'Higher Subjects' or in the more advanced levels of the 3 R's. Rev. Feild also noted that there were no new methods of teaching reading used in Birmingham and that one school still used the sand tray to teach writing.

TABLE 38

THE STATE OF PROGRESS IN 20 BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS ; REV. E. FEILD (2)

Spelling and Reading Boys Girls Boys Girls

Alphabet & Monosyllables: 542 310 Learning to write on slates 512 378 In good state of progress: 477 260 Writing copies &c on paper 366 153 Able to read well* : 113 64 Able to write well 46 17 Arithmetic Higher Subjects Learning the first 4iules: 390 198 Grammar 29 Reduction & Compound rules:119 48 Geography 83 Rule of Three, practice etc:44

•*N.B. This means reading correctly and fluently without requiring a proper emphasis and pronounciation, an excellence rarely found in parochial schools.'

By the 1840 f s there was a developing realization of the need to move away from monitorial methods and to expand the curriculum. The monitorial system was open to abuse by pupils with the possibility of bribing monitors.

The master of the Pinfold St. National School noted that he had to be very

(1) Feild 1841.

(2) Ibid. Details extracted to form table. - 231 - vigilant to prevent bribery, by which pupils could maintain themselves at the head of the class. He was of the opinion that

'it is a great evil in this system that the master is of necessity obliged to judge of the progress of the scholars more by the reports of the monitors than by his own observations. f (l)

Both clergy and inspectors began to criticise the system. The rector of St. Thomas in 1847 commented that

'Our inspectors now weary of the monitorial system'(2) a comment reflected in the reports of both Diocesan and H.M. Inspectors, In 1841 the Rev. Feild noted that the children were getting ideas and facts confused, and that monitorial schools were attempting in an unsatisfactory and insufficient way to overcome this. ' The Rev. H.W, Bellairs, H.M.I, noted that at St. Matthews

'Instruction of junior classes, carried on mainly by circulating monitors, is unsatisfactory.'(4)

Despite this criticism the monitorial system continued, though as early as 1841 the Rev. Peild had stated categorically

'With respect to the monitorial system .... I must honestly confess its defects have beome more apparent and painful to me from more extended observation .... Education, however, it positively and clearly is not.'(5)

(1) CEG.1843, f.197. No. 515. Some schools tried to overcome this, at Bp. Ryder's school monitors were changed quarterly, Mins. CCE, Vol.1, p.149-

(2) NSLF. St. Thomas 23.6.47.

(3) Feild 1841. (4) Mins. CCE. 1847-8, VoLI, p.150.

(5) Feild 1841. - 232 -

With the criticism of monitorialism there were also constructive suggestions for alterations and improvements, and the later 1840*s saw some of these newer methods coming into use in some Birmingham schools.

The 1846 inception of the pupil-teacher scheme was one such move, though as Rev. Bellairs pointed out, it was difficult in Birmingham to get a good system of pupil teachers established as the pay rate was not high

enough to match that paid for labour in the manufactories. ' By 1845,

as Rev. G,S. Bull of St. Matthews noted, changes were being made in the National School.

1 ... under the advice of our inspectors as well as from our own experience of the absolute necessity of separate classrooms in order to effectuate instruction by separating during parts of each day the more advanced from others, we have attempted the formation of a classroom for the boys and another for the girls together with an elevated gallery suitable for simultaneous instruction.'(2)

The examination of Anglican parochial education by Rev. Feild in

1841 had shown the limitation of the curriculum. There was very little

except the 3 R's, and even within those three topics, the emphasis was

on reading and writing. The Rev. Feild commented with surprise at the lack of maths in most of the curricula,

'it might have been expected that arithmetic would have been an object of interest and desire congenial to the tastes and wants of a manufacturing population, The parochial schools of Birmingham give no evidence of the fact. f (3)

Feild also noted that there was little physical training, play provision or even singing. The last he found surprising, especially in Birmingham

(1) Mins. CCE, 1847-8, Vol. I, pp.117-121.

(2) NSLF. St. Matthew 12.11.4S

(3) Feild 1841. - 233 -

'where the voices of the children are the sweetest imaginable.'(l)

This limitation of the curriculum had been revealed a little earlier by Wood's report of 1838. As Table 39 shows the emphasis was heavily on the 3 R f s, religion-morals and for girls sewing and knitting skills, and this curriculum limitation was not just for the Anglicans as the figures also include some dissenting schools.

TABLE 39

SUBJECTS PROFESSED TO BE TAUGHT IN 7 INFANT

& 26 CHARITY SCHOOLS

Subject Inf- Chap- Subject Inf- Char- Subject Inf- Char­ ant ity ant ity ity Reading 25 Sewing 2 21 Mathematics Writing 23 Knitting 2 19 Morals 7 25 Arithmetic 24 Domestic Duties - 5 Religion Instruction 7 21 Grammar 10 Industrial Employ. - 2 Religion Catechism ~ 4

Geography 9 Music .. Prayers & , Hymns ~ History 6 Classic Languages - 2 No relig. instruction Drawing 1 Modern Languages - 2xxxxxxxxx

The timetable of St. Thomas in the mid 1840*s well illustrated this emphasis. Apart from subjects closely related to religion and the 3 R's only 55 minutes a day were devoted to extensions of the curriculum.

Other national schools exhibit similar timetabling; in 1842 St. Bartholomew's taught the 3R's, English,History and Geography, though its library also

(1) Ibid. (2) Wood 1838, Table 6, p.l8. Anglican schools accounted for 17 charity and 4 infant from the totals. - 234 - contained books on natural history and travel as well as the more usual religious and moral ones.

TABLE 40

TIMETABLE OF ST. THOMAS 1 NATIONAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS 1st CLASS (2)

Time Occupation Time Occupation

9-00 - 9.15 Prayers 2.00 - 2.15 Psalms

9.15 - 9.30 Psalms * On Wed. 2.15.- 2.45 History of England Catechism 2.45 - 3.30 Sums * On Tues. 9.30 - 10.00 Bible Lessons Grammar

10.00 - 10.20 Tables 3.30 - 3-45 Scripture History

10.20 - 11.00 Writing 3.45 - 4.00 Spelling * On Fri.Grammar

11.00 - 11.20 Spelling 4.00 - 4.15 Tables

11.20 - 11.45 Geography * On Fri. 4«15 - 4»30 Dismissal .Repetition 11.45 - 12.00 Dismissal x x

The expansion of the curriculum to include topics such as natural history, geography and English History was part of the general movement

in the 1840 f s towards a secularization of day school education. As J.M.

Goldstrom has suggested this was a slow change but nevertheless, as

Birmingham evidence shows, it was taking place. (3) Rev. Feild, in

1843 commented;

'I found an increasing conviction that it is right and necessary to introduce more books of secular and general knowledge into our schools, if only for the purpose of elucidating and applying the Holy Scriptures. And I observed that where such books and subjects had actually been introduced there was no apparant deficiency of instruction, of knowledge in religious truths.'(4)

(1) GEC.1843, f.191-2, no.504-

(2) NSLF. St. Thomas 1 , undated, 0.1846.

(3) Goldstrom, Social Content, pp.91-97-

(4) Ibid, p.96. Quoting Rev. E. Feild. - 235 -

In his report on Birmingham in 1841 he noted that most Birmingham schools

alternated a secular book such as "The Instructor" with the Bible in their reading.

The government inspectors also reported on the increasing secular

element in Birmingham schools and their widening curricula. Rev. Moseley

reporting on St. Stephen's school in 1846, the year it was opened, noted

Only 1 boy in 9 can read with tolerable ease and correctness. Geography and singing appear, however, to be taught with some care.'(l)

The following year the Rev. Bellairs found on his inspection of St. Mary's

that secular books had recently been introduced, and he also felt it

worth comment to note that St. Bartholomew's school was without secular

reading books. ' The books used at St. Thomas's in the mid l840's show

the secular element slowly increasing, as Table 41 shows. This

expansion and introduction of extra subjects into the curriculum took a great deal of time to be effected but by the mid l840's many of the

Birmingham National Schools seem to have been partly secularized, as seen in Table 42.

TABLE 41

BOOKS USED AT ST. THOMAS NATIONAL 1. Bible 7. Tables (Wilson) 2. Psalters 8. Church Catechism 3. Scripture History 9- Testament 4. Books of Nature 10. 1st Class Book (Whatton) 5. History of England (Hogarth) 11. Instructor 6. Grammar (Alexander) 12. Spelling Cards p 1-22 * The eight first are used in the first class.

(1) Mins. CCE. 1846, Vol.1, p. 217-

(2) Mins. CCE. 1847-8, Vol. I, pp.147 and 152. (3) NSLF, St. Thomas', undated, 0.1846. - 236 -

TABLE 42 (1) CURRICULUM SUBJECTS FROM 12 ANGLICAN NATIONAL SCHOOLS

Vocal Total 3 R's Mental Geog r(ng* Etymology Eng. & Grammar J *** Hist Subjects

St. Lukes 1 111 1 1

St. Philips 1 1 1 St. Pauls 1 1 1 1 St. Georges 1 111 1 1 All Saints 1 1 1 1 4 Bp. Ryders 1 111 1 1 St. Peters 1 1 1 1 4 St. Thomas Reading Infant s only 0 St. Bartholomews 1 1 1 St. Stephens 1 1 1 1 4 St . Marks 1 1 1 St. Matthews 1 111 1 5

Total Schools 12 10 8

The change and development in Sunday and National schooling was paralleled in King Edward's schools. The doubtful legality of the small schools and the anticipated arrival of the Charity Commissioners had resulted in the closure of the small schools. The Commissioners' report was not favourable, they noted

'a degree of inattention and neglect to the concerns of the charity, deserving of marked reprehension. We tryst that the danger, to which the charity has been .... exposed, will induce the governors to adopt a

(l) Mins. CCE, 1846 pp.211 and 215. Adapted from grant aid details. - 237 -

better regulated system of management.'(1)

Partly as a result of this report, partly because of the closure of the

small schools, and partly because the Free Grammar School itself was (2) literally falling down, ' it was decided to apply to Parliament for an Act to redefine the powers and rights of the Governors, enabling them to provide better schooling in new premises.

The initial Bill put forward by the Governors met considerable

opposition from within Birmingham, particularly from Dissenters, who were Iqy one of its clauses, excluded from election to the Governors. Further grounds for opposition came from clauses which would have moved the school away from the centre of the town and would have delayed the building

of departments for dealing with non-Classical education. ' When the Act finally received the Royal Assent, it provided for the rebuilding of the Free Grammar School, which would offer the "classical" grammar school education; the creation of a modern language, art and science school, to be built adjacent to the Free Grammar School; and also four elementary schools to be erected in the town

'for the education of the Male and Female Children of the poorer Classes . . . .'(4)

The King Edward's School moved into temporary accommodation while the new Classical school was being built. During this time the headmaster, Rev. Cooke died and was succeeded by the much younger Rev. Francis Jeune.

(1) Reports of the Charity Commissioners, Vol.20, (l829), pp.693-4. (2) GOR, 12.1.31; 28.1.29; 28.1.24; 7-7.21.

(3) Details of this bill, its passage, opponents etc. are not strictly relevant here. For further information, Cf. ^yson, Elementary Education . . . KES; T.W. Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1532-1952, (Oxford 1952), p. 40. (4) GOR, 26.3.32. - 238 -

Although Jeune was only headmaster for four years he had a profound effect on the schools of the foundation. In June 1836, after two years as headmaster, Jeune wrote to the Governors suggesting a plan to improve the education offered. He argued that the setting up of separate

Classical and English (Modern) schools would not be successful. The classical school would, he argued,

'be but thinly occupied, if we should not .... give such instruction, as will meet the wants of a great commercial community.'

Though Jeune favoured classical education very strongly he argued that

for success the Governors should combine the two separate schools planned

and use the building being erected for the combined school - thus saving

the expense of building an extra school. Jeune note,d that

'it is only by throwing open our gates to that large class of persons who are desirous of educating their Children for mercantile life, that we can hope to fill our School, and to justify in public opinion the outlay which has been made on the present building.'

Jeune also suggested that powers be sought to make the four elementary

schools to be built superior to the National Schools, giving a sound

commercial education to a limited number of boys. '

The plan of Rev. Jeune was one which appealed to many townsmen, and

in October 1836 a memorial was presented to the Governors by leading

figures, both Anglican and Dissent, suggesting such a combination as the

Rev. Jeune had outlined. This combination, the 70 petitioners argued,

'would meet the peculiar wants of Birmingham as a Manufacturing and commercial Town . . . .'(2)

(1) GOR, 3.8.36.

(2) GOR, 5.10.36. - 239 -

The new schemes by which the curriculums of the Modern and Classical

schools were united and the forms of government to "be adopted necessitated

another Act of Parliament which was passed in 1837• The Bishop of

Lichfield, Samuel Butler, in giving his approval as Diocesan of the

scheme, commented that he was not as sanguine as some of the advocates

of the scheme, but

! I am too sensible of the vast importance of such a measure to a great commercial Town like Birmingham not to see the absolute necessity of giving it a fair and ample Trial and of using every effort to promote its success. f (l)

With the approval of this Act the basis was laid for the expansion of

schooling both in the main school and in the elementary schools.

While the schools expanded and grew in efficiency there was still

considerable opposition from the town, particularly after the formation of

the Borough Council which was Liberal and Dissenting dominated. In 1842

the Governors found that the charity was in debt of about £80,000. The

hostile Birmingham Journal commented

'Such is the trifling excess of expenditure, in the course of some seven or eight years of the close corporation of the Free Grammar School.'(2)

The Governors arranged an Act of Parliament to enable them to raise more

money and were again heavily opposed by the town council. Apart from

the question of the closed nature of the Governing body, the other main

grumble was the lack of effort expended on the poorer communities.

George Muntz presented a petition to Parliament which requested

(1) GOR, 7.3.37.

(2) BJ. 25.6.42. - 240 -

'That the benefits of the charity should be extended throughout the borough, and particularly to the hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley, and Duddeston cum Nechells, where elementary schools were much wanted, and would be of great importance and benefit to the inhabitants of those hamlets.'(l)

The petition was lost.

What was the form taken by the King Edward's schools in their new organization? The curriculum in the Free Grammar School was still mainly classical, though the modern languages, sciences and related subjects were slowly infiltrating; though, as one boy recalled who left in the 1850's, the boys were

'drilled in Latin .... day and night .... Masters in French and German, writing and arithmetic, science and drawing, were partial in their work and personally unconsidered.'(2)

The Governors' noted when preparing to appoint a new writing master in

1835 that they wanted a man

'of superior qualifications and greater efficiency .... who .... in addition to Writing and Arithmetic .... must be qualified to teach Algebra and the Elements of Mathematics upon the Cambridge Plan . . . .' (3)

As mentioned earlier, the King Edward's schools were multi-class, and are being dealt with as a whole group in this thesis, though it must be remembered that few working class children reached the Classical Department

The English department of the main school, however, contained many working class children. ' The work in this department improved over the years

(1) BJ. 6.8.42.

(2) Hutton, KES Birmingham, p. 139 quoting H. Pearson.

(3) GOR, 24.3.35.

(4) See Chapter 8. - 241 - but did not achieve a very high status. An Examiner's report blamed the lack of achievement in arithmetic in this department as being

'wholly owing to the unprepared state in which the boys are admitted.'(l)

This occurred because of the system of recommendation by Governors which meant a pupil could wait several years before his nomination to the school was taken up, years in which he might well receive no other schooling. Thus for the years up to 185! the emphasis remained on the classics with the other subjects only beginning to assert themselves slowly.

In the elementary schools, three of which were in operation by

1840, ( 2 ') the curriculum was limited to the 3 R's and a few extras such as were coming into the national schools. The Rev. E.H. Gifford, who became Headmaster in l847> commented on his examination of the elementary

school children, that they were well instructed in the Holy Scripture,

History, Geography and Arithmetic. ' Rev. Feild in his report of 1841 noted that the elementary schools of King Edward's were superior to the

National schools and mentioned that their curriculum included geography, history, drawing and grammar. '

The methods used in the King Edward's elementary schools were based on the sessional system, a form of monitorial system. In 1841 to aid the school teachers, discretionary powers were granted by the Governors to allow elementary boys and girls to stay beyond the ages of 14 or 13

(1) GOR, 28.7.45-

(2) The fourth opened in 1852.

(3) GOR, 30.6.48.

(4) Feild, 1841. - 242 - respectively

•where their services as Monitors would be desirable 1 .(l)

In 1848 it was proposed by the Rev. Gifford that the monitors should be paid as an encouragement for them to stay longer in the school. His scheme proposed that salaries of £7 p.a., £9 and £12 would be paid to (2) the monitors for 1 year, 2 years or 3 years respectively. ' The Free Grammar School itself did not teach monitorially but on a class system. Each school (i.e. Classical and English) had a large room called 'big school 1 within which all the individual classes were taught.

The other Anglican charity school, the Blue Coat School, also experienced a change in its educational system during the 1830*s and 1840's. Although there was little expansion in terms of numbers, the years 1828-51 saw changes in emphasis in curriculum, methods and organization. In 1835 a sub committee concerned with the educational side of the charity, as opposed to the estates and buildings, began to record minutes of its meetings. This sub committee made regular visits to the school, inspecting individual classes at random:-

'Heard the third Class examined which acquitted itself very creditably, and found both Schools in due Order. f (3)

This sub committee formed a useful check on the conduct of the school.

In 1837 the attainments of a leaver dissatisfied the general committee, the sub committee was able to report that no fault in this case lay with the teaching

(1) GOR, 12.5.41.

(2) GOR, 26.4.48.

(3) Blue Coat Schools School Sub Committee Minutes, Vol. I, 1.7.35* Hereafter Bl.Ct.Sub Mins. - 243 -

•the deficiency above alluded to arose from the girl's habitual perverseness. f (l)

The school committees were not, as might be thought, merely "whitewashing" school procedures; they were quite capable of presenting forceful criticism of the school. In 1843 the committee noted how

'very deficient and unsatisfactory 1

(o) was the children's understanding of what they had read. ' The appointment of external examiners in the 1840's, whose reports on the school were published in the Annual Reports and committee minutes, was another of the changes of organization which brought the educational performance of the school under greater scrutiny. These reports were sometimes praising and at other times critical. The report of 184? noted

'when we ... consider that the period to which the Children remain in the Charity extends to four years beyond the average time at which they leave our daily schools, we cannot but feel that the Standard of Attainment in both the Boys, and especially in the Girls School, is lower than we might justly have expected.'(3)

The minutes of the sub committee show that the curriculum slowly expanded from its early nineteenth century basis of the 3 R's and some form of "industrial" work for the girls. The first changes did not introduce new elements to the timetable, they tended more to aid the existing system. It was decided in 1836 that while the girls were involved in needlework, that instead of sitting in

(1) Ibid. 15.11.37.

(2) Bl.Ct. Mins. Vol. 11, May 1843, p.200. Part of a special report on the school. (3) Ibid. 9.4.47, P. - 244 -

'unprofitable silence .... a Girl, appointed for a while and changed at the discretion of the Teacher, shall read aloud for the improvement of her fellow scholars.(l)

In 1835 a library was started

•in order to advance the moral, intellectual and spiritual improvement of the children . . . «(2)

The major changes came in the later 1840 f s, for still in 1841 the accent of education in the Blue Coat School was on the 3 R's and religion, as shown by an advertisement for a prospective teacher.

'Wanted .... A Senior Assistant Teacher. He must be a superior Penman, well versed in Arithmetic, capable of imparting Instruction in the various branches of a general English Education, and especially "apt to teach" the principles of the Christian Religion, as inculcated by the Established Church.'(3)

Additions to the curriculum were gradually made. In 1843 the school started to give more time to physical exercise, a development which answered the criticisms being made (by such as Rev. Feild) of the lack of physical exercise given to children. The committee minutes recorded that

'measures have lately been adopted to secure a greater amount of Outdoor Exercise, and to promote Gymnastics . . . .'(4)

This was a new departure in the curriculum, for as Wood's statistical report on Birmingham had noted, even where playground facilities were provided, it was

(1) Bl.Ct. Sub.Mins. 13.7-36. (2) Bl.Ct.Wins., 6.4.35. (3) Ibid. 15.3.41. (4) Ibid. May 1843, p.203. - 245 -

•to be regretted that scarcely any avail themselves of this circumstance ... to give the scholars a little exercise, and to ventilate the school-room.'(l)

In February 1847 it was resolved to introduce

•Drawing as adapted to art and Manufacturers, on the principle of the Government School of Design in London.' (2) and in 1851 it was resolved that

'the Elements of Mechanics should be taught.'(3)

The 1840*3 also saw some of the first questioning of the dichotomy which existed between the teaching of boys and that of girls. The report of 1842 had noted

'As regards the Girls School we beg to report That as a whole they seem quite inferior to the Boys. They seem in general not to be questioned upon what they read.'(4)

The girls did not receive so much schooling as the boys as more of their time was taken up by domestic duties and needlework instruction. The special committee report of 1843 noted that the hours of education given to the girls were too few, and were given at the wrong time of the day; the girls did not get the smme chances as the boys. This situation well reflected the differential attitudes towards the sexes. By 1850, the girls were receiving a much wider education. In that year they were examined in Arithmetic, Writing and Reading and Dictation, Geography,

U) Wood 1838, p.12.

(2) Bl.Ct.Mins., Feb. 1847, P»544.

(3) Bl.Ct.Sub Mins. 30.1.51.

(4) Bl.Ct.Mins., Sept. 1842, p.90. - 246 -

Scripture History and Church Catechism; the only subjects they did not receive which the boys did were English Grammar and English History. '

However, despite the development in curriculum for both boys and girls, the main emphasis remained on giving an education of 3 R f s and religion.

The report of 1851 noted the improvement in writing and a good knowledge of the

'leading truths of religion 1 .

It noted the writing to be an

'important part of a plain education 1 ;

and it was a plain education that the Blue Coat aimed for and provided;

an educa tion which the examining committee felt gave children

•a sound, useful and religious education.'(2)

The Blue Coat School used the monitorial method for its teaching,

but as in the National Schools, this came in for criticism in the 1840's.

The special committee report of May 1843 roundly criticized the monitorial

system, this was because

'as carried on by the Boys under 14 years of age . . . (it) . . . is injurious in itself; and doubly so, as being in a great degree without superintendance, and as depriving the ^monitors of their own lessons sometimes for a fortnight together.'(3)

The monitorial system was maintained despite this criticism, the sub committee noting

'That while the Committee deprecate the Monitorial System in the educational system of this Schooj,

(1) Ibid. Vol.12, 1850, pp.10-12. (2) Ibid. April 1851, pp.69-73. (3) Ibid. Vol. 11, May 1843, p.199. - 247 -

they think it highly advantageous in the superintendance of discipline.'(l)

There was, however, a change of method within the monitorial system in the adoption of the sessional system as used in the K.E. elementary schools. This system relied much on questions and answers and had as its base the precept that a child should not be taught that which it does not understand; this was an alternative to the "parrot-fashion" learning which had taken place in some earlier monitorial schools. The school sub committee resolved that

'at the end of every lesson the Master or Teacher shall question the Children as to the meaning and purport of the lesson, with such explanation and illustration as shall be suitable to their age . . .'(2)

The examiners report for 1845 commented that

'¥e were glad to find that the system of teaching mere words and phrases has not been adopted and that the Children have been taught to understand the meaning of what they learn". '(3)

The majority of children attending the Blue Coat School were being

trained and educated with the end of becoming apprentices or going into

service. This had an effect on the timetabling of the day in that, until the 1840*s, quite a lot of time was spent on household chores in and around

the school. This obviously affected the education of the children. The

school sub-committee noted that

'the system of employing the Boys in this Institution as drabs and scullions in the Back Kitchen . . . (was undesirable). . . it is presumed that the means of

(1) Bl.Ct.Sub.Mins., 15.1.47.

(2) Ibid., 15.6.43.

(3) Bl.Ct.Mins., 28.3.45. - 248 -

instruction within these walls is calculated to prepare the boys for a better station in life, than they seem destined to be qualified for by the degrading employment above alluded to.'(l)

Such work as this reduced learning time with a consequent effect on attainment. Yet this continued for several years. In 1851 the sub committee noted that it was

'much concerned to find that Frederick Holmes could scarcely read at all, and on enquiry they find that for a long time back he has been engaged every morning in cleaning the yard and scouring the privies.'(2)

II

The changes in method, curriculum and organization were part of a general alteration of attitude to the education of the poor - also seen in the development of the approach of love and kindness in teaching suggested in the Sunday schools. This change was perhaps not unnaturally matched by alterations in the methods of obtaining and maintaining discipline.

The nature of discipline in nineteenth century schools has often been depicted as being very harsh and fierce. But, as Harold Silver has suggested, this is because historians of education have assumed that corporal punishment was the norm for discipline in all Victorian school­ rooms, just because this was perhaps so in the public and grammar school.(3)

The Birmingham evidence questions this generalization.

The floggings and beatings associated with the public and grammar

(1) Bl.Ct.Sub.Mins.. 29.6.36.

(2) Ibid., 17.7.51.

(3) Silver, 'Aspects of Neglect 1 , p.63. - 249 - schools and the violence which seemed to be part of that system were not absent from the Free Grammar School. This school, which under the headmasters of the 1830's - 1850's moved from local grammar school towards public school status was no exception to floggings and pupil unrest. In 1833, when Rev. Cooke was headmaster, the Bailiff reported that some of the boys had

'torn up the Benches and Desks in the Grammar School thrown heated Coal about the School committed other Mischief and fastened Mr. Downes in one of the School Rooms.'(l)

The headmaster, Cooke, according to a later and rather partisan description, was called 'Cooke, the butcher 1 because of the notoriety (2) of his beatings. ' The same author noted that the chief delight of the third master, the Rev. Clay

'was to hold a boy by the hair of his head down to his desk with one hand, whilst he beat the boy on his face.'(3)

In 1831 the writing master found the boys refractory and impertinent

'in spite of the frequent use of the Cane . . . (and felt that) he ought not to spend all his time in chastising.' the Governors noting at the same time that the Upper School Boys were

'notorious for Insolence and Insubordination, of which .... they often boast'.(4)

(1) GOR, 8.1.33.

(2) George Griffiths, Going to Markets and Grammar Schools . . .1830 to 18?Q, 2 vols (1870), VoLl, p.4- in Woburn Press Reprint, (1971). (3) Ibid, p.9- (4) GOR, 5.11.31. - 250 -

When the Rev. Jeune became headmaster in l834> three years after the incidents recorded, he was obviously faced with severe disciplinary problems. The diary of Sir Francis Galton records part of his solution,

'Jan. 25. The Doctor flogged a chap. March 15. One boy expelled, another flogged. March 26. Got caned. March 28. Got caned . . . (and an obviously noteworthy day) . . . April 2. The Doctor did not go round with his cane.'(l)

The Blue Coat School also used the cane as a means of discipline and floggings were not unknown, though it seems they were less frequent than at the Free Grammar School and were possibly for more 'serious 1 offences.

In 1843 the committee recorded that

'Two Boys, Oseland & Kerry were brought before the Committee & found guilty of stealing Bread, Meat and Bacon. Resolved. That they be severely flogged before the whole School, this being their second offence.'(2)

Later that year it was resolved by the school sub-committee that

'in future, punishment of the Boys be by the Cane on the Back, with the Clothes on, and not upon an exposed part of the person.'(3)

Yet, the later l830 f s and l840's were a time of improving discipline and lessening corporal punishment, even in the above schools, in Birmingham.

Much of the disciplinary problems of the 1820*s and early 1830's, which were reported in the local press or in the Governors minutes, arose from the inadequacy of the teachers. When the Free Grammar School boys rioted in 1833 the headmaster, the prime disciplinary force was a man of

77, and the second master was 62. The third master was also not a man

(1) Hutton, KES Birmingham, p.86.

(2) Bl.Ct.Mins.. 13.3.43.

(3) Bl.Ct.Sub.Mins., 29.12.43. - 251 - of youth and vigour capable of dealing with lively boys, for three years later he was dismissed, because

'from bodily and mental infirmity Mr Clay does not appear . , to possess sufficient remaining energy to perform all the functions of an efficient teacher to maintain order and discipline and to correct idle and vicious habits with consistency and judgement . . .'(l)

Two months before the 1833 riots in the school another master had been dismissed because he had been

•held to Bail by the Magistrates for ill treatment of his wife and it having been proved ... that he was drunk in School on two recent occasions and ... incapable of performing his duties . .'.'(2)

The age or inefficiency of these teachers created a laxity of attendance in both pupils and teachers. Parents complained to the Governors of the irregular attendance of the teachers, and the consequent irregular attendance of children. '

The Blue Coat School suffered in a similar way. In June 1840 a new headmaster was appointed but he was relieved of his post in October 1840.

The committee noted that he had

'exhibited symptoms of mental derangement ... so as to render it necessary ... to put him under restraint.'(4)

The annual report of the school for that year noted that during his short tenure of office

'inattention and mismanagement .... produced much irregularity and insubordination in the Boys' School . . .

(1) GOR, 1.6.36.

(2) GOR, 13.11.32.

(3) GOR, 12.6.32; 8.2.34-

(4) Bl.Ct.Mins.. 14.10.40. - 252 -

(resulting in) . . . the painful necessity of expelling two Boys and inflicting minor punishments upon others. f (l)

With such teachers in control of the various charity schools, it was small wonder that discipline was a problem.

The l830's-40's, as suggested, proved the turning point as regards discipline and efficiency. The ageing hierarchy of King Edward's school changed with the death of Cooke in l834j the compulsory retirement of Clay in 1836 and the voluntary retirement of Rev. Rann Kennedy (2nd Master) in l834» The new headmaster, Rev. Dr. Jeune, was 28 years old and the new 2nd Master, Rev. Gedge, 32. They introduced firmness, regularity and certainty into school work and discipline which was very much needed after the laxity of the last years under Cooke. Jeune's insistance on punctuality and good behaviour and his severity in ensuring it was probably also due to the fact that during his headmastership the school was largely in hired accommodation while the old school was replaced by the new buildings. When Jeune resigned there was probably much truth in his remark that he passed the school on to his successor

•in a state of discipline which renders punishment almost unnecessary. . .'(2)

His successor, Rev. Prince Lee, noted in 1840 that in the newly formed English School there was difficulty in discipline and a need for severity because there were two hundred boys new to schooling,

'many of then unused to all restraint, taken at once into a newly opened school where there was no routine established for them to fall into . . . .'(3)

(1) Ibid., Annual Report 1840. (2) GOR, 7.3.38. (3) GOR, 8.1.40. - 253 -

Rev. Lee noted the improvement in discipline of this school when he compared the 32 boys severely disciplined from January - June 1839 with the 2 boys so disciplined January - June 1841. ' Again in 1842 he noted that discipline and moral tone were good,

•The cases requiring severe punishment have been few, and I believe isolated.'(2)

Discipline in the new elementary schools was also firm - the regulations

stressed

•Cleanliness, neatness of apparel, ready obedience and respectful behaviour towards the Master and Teachers .... An infraction of the rules respecting discipline and conduct will subject the boy so offending to punishment or dismissal.*(3)

The more considered appointment and greater suitability of teachers, with the alterations in organisation and increased efficiency, helped ease discipline problems. This was reflected in the increasing infrequency of severe corporal punishment and lack of pupil unrest. This decline in severity co-incided with the growth of the idea that teachers should act with kindness and love towards their pupils. In 1850 the good discipline found in the Blue Coat School was attributed to

f the kindness and decision on the part of the Master - qualities which eminently fit him for the responsible post which he occupies.'(4)

Corporal punishment was not encouraged in the Sunday schools, as

(1) GOR, 12.5.41. (2) GOR, 6.7.42.

(3) King Edward's Elementary Schools Committee Minutes, 1832-42, (Manuscript) Housed in KES Archives, Birmingham.

(4) Bl.Ct.Mins.. Vol. 12, 1850, pp.13-14. - 254 - the lecture series quoted earlier showed. Wood's statistical report confirms this. Table 43 shows that of all 56 Sunday Schools (Anglican and Dissent) only 8 professed the use of corporal punishment, a claim supported by other evidence.

TABLE 43

DISCIPLINE IN BIRMINGHAM SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN 1838* 1 '

Type of Punishment No. of Schools

Corporal Punishment 8 Public exposure 5 Extra lessons 6

No punishment professed 37

Total Number of Schools

In 1843 a teacher described how discipline at St. Thomas's School was

'preserved more by kind expostulation . . . than by corporal punishment . . . There is no flogging . . . Caning is very seldom inflicted.'(2)

The available evidence suggests that to some degree this also applied to the day schools. Wood's report noted that half the Infant and

Charity schools used corporal punishment, a quarter seldom did, and the others never. ' Rev. T. Nunn reported that at St. Bartholomew's National school

(1) Wood 1838, p.23.

(2) CEC 1843, p.f.197, no. 514. (3) Wood, 1838, p.19. - 255 -

'The "boys are very seldom caned; the cane is almost disused; no flogging.'(l)

Where the cane was used, the newer approach of pupil-teacher relationship began to be used. Instead of merely beating a boy before the whole school, the fault of the boy would be explained,

'and the design of the correction . . . shown to be for the boy's own good, and not as a matter of revenge.'(2)

This may have made little difference to the recipient but it marked a change of attitude on the part of the authorities.

There is perhaps not a wide enough spread of evidence here to be certain that there was a decline in corporal punishment in Birmingham working class schools. If it did decline in those schools and not in middle class schools then an interesting pattern emerges, perhaps -suggesting a strength of working class parental pressure against such punishment.

At the moment that possibility must remain an open question.

Corporal punishment was not the only means of enforcing discipline.

Amongst other methods, one coming into prominence was the shaming of individuals. This had been used as early as 1813 in the Pinfold St.

National School and its efficacy and value as a powerful disciplinary force was being argued in the 1840's. A voluntary teacher at St. Thomas's

Sunday School commented that the effect of shame was a more powerful disciplinary agent than physical punishment. He knew of a case

(1) CEC 1843. f.191, no.504. (2) Ibid.

(3) Cf. Simon Frith, 'Socialization and rational schooling: elementary education in Leeds before 1870 f , pp.85-86, in McCann (Ed.), Education and Socialization. Frith notes parental opposition to punishments being given in National schools in l860's.

(4) NSAE I8n. Birmingham report. - 256 -

•where a "badge of shame was regarded "by the boys as a more severe punishment than caning. f (l)

He suggested that frequent canings, rather than having a salutory effect would soon produce a hardening of attitudes and become counter productive.

The rules and regulations of schools which defined behaviour and through which discipline operated, retained the stress on punctuality, good morals, obedience, cleanliness, etc. which they had done from 1780 onwards. Already it has been shown that the new elementary schools of

King Edwards demanded cleanliness and respect, neatness and good behaviour, while the necessity for punctuality was frequently stressed in the

Governors minutes. The schools of Bishop Ryder (national and Sunday) adopted new rules in 1843 because the incumbent felt it was

'of great importance that Children should be regular and punctual in their attendance at School.'(2)

The difference to be noted in the later rules and regulations and advertisements is the lack of the blatant and sometimes derogatory anti- working class rhetoric seen in some of the earlier publications of rules etc. This shift of emphasis, again representative of the change in attitude to the education of the poor was seen in the way that the . providers advertised their schools. There tended to be less of the imperative command to education or the threat of spiritual punishment for failure to attend school - instead, the values and benefits of schooling were stressed; the advertisement of Bishop Ryder's new rules being a case in point. The Rev. Collisson informed his working class readers,

(1) CEC 1843, f.197, no.514.

(2) NSLF, Bishop Ryder, 25i4.43. - 257 -

•MY DEAR FRIENDS, These schools have now been established long enough to convince you that the Conductors of them are zealously labouring to give to your children a sound and valuable education. Believing, therefore, that you can now regard it as a privelege to have such Schools in your District . . . f he enclosed the new rules.

Thus although the ends were still very much the same in as much as good order, cleanliness and respect were still being stressed, the attitudes of the providers was changing in the way they approached the

"clientele". This change of attitudes was exemplified in the other main way that discipline and co-operation was aimed for - through the use of rewards of various types. Rewards as an inducement to good behaviour or regular attendance had been used since the first formation of the Sunday schools. The 1830 f s and 1840's, however, saw a considerable

extension of this.

Rev. Marsden noted in 1854 that the giving of rewards to a few children would form a useful part of a disciplinary system. (2)' Some

fifteen years earlier, Rev. Feild had condemned the use of rewards, as making motives for learning suspect. He noted the use of tickets, marks and badges as signs of approbation, but also noted they were less common in endowed schools or in manufacturing town schools. ' The extent of

"prizes" in Birmingham schools as shown in Wood's report^was that three out of seven infants schools, and twelve out of twenty six Charity schools

(Anglican and Dissent) gave prizes in 1838. '

Schools in Birmingham seem to have followed Rev. Marsden's view of

(1) Ibid.

(2) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.115.

(3) Feild 1841. (4) Wood 1838. Table 8, p.19. - 258 - the value of rewards, as most schools which provide relevant evidence show the use of some form of reward, though usually of a more useful nature than the badges or tickets spoken of by Feild. Some schools certainly gave tickets, sometimes exchangeable for money or books - or in the case of the Blue Coat school badges for the boys chosen for industry and good conduct who would become monitors,

distinguished by a Medal and entitled to double privileges'.(l)

It was this latter part, the entitlement to privileges of some sort,

that the reward system usually took.

The rewards offered to well-behaved or hard-working Sunday scholars

were often extra lessons in the subjects "taboo" on the Sabbath. The

rector of St. Martins told the Children's Employment Commission that he

'as a reward for good conduct has allowed some of the boys of the Sunday-school to attend twice a week in the evening for instruction in writing.'(2)

Moseley added that this privelege was a common practice, but was taken

up by the boys with great satisfaction. He also drew attention to the • use of similar rewards in some girls Sunday schools where weekday

evening instruction in writing, reading, accounts and needlework was

given. Similarly, at All Saints, the mid-week writing and arithmetic

evening school admitted children 'as a reward for good conduct. 1 The

rector of All Saints noted how

'this reward assists materially in the discipline of the Sunday-school .... Admission .... is much sought after . . . .'(3)

(1) Bl.Ct.Sub.Mins.. 23.5.44.

(2) CEC 1843, f.192, no.505. (3) Ibid., f.194-5, no's 507, 508, - 259 -

Admittance to evening classes was not always used as a reward, some schools giving other presents. At. St. Thomas Sunday school

•The boys are rewarded for good conduct by receiving Bibles, Prayer-books, hymn-books, and others of a religious and moral nature, also scientific.'

It is also quite specifically stated that

'They are not rewarded by being allowed to attend an evening school for writing and arithmetic.'(l)

It is unfortunately not clear whether this stance was one of policy against the using of teaching of writing and reading as a discriminatory reward, or a statement implying lack of an evening school at St. Thomas's, or even opposition to writing and arithmetic instruction at any time.

The schools connected with the King Edward's Foundation also espoused the reward system. The external examiners in 1838 suggested the use of rewards to encourage children to be monitors in the elementary schools. Again in 1847 the use of rewards to encourage deserving elementary school pupils

'to remain longer at School and to facilitate the training of such as desire it for Masters of Schools' was discussed. ' Promotion to monitor often being a reward in itself, as in the case of the Blue Coat school, already quoted, good behaviour and conduct were thus encouraged.

Gradually, as the schools developed and improved, attendance at the school became a reward in itself, suspension and explusion being effective

(1) Ibid., f.197, no.514.

(2) By 1844 St. Thomas's had night schools as a reward. Gf. NSLF, St. Thomas, 19.1.44.

(3) GOR, 9.5-38; 2.6.47- - 260 - disciplining agents helping secure an orderly school. Rev. Lee of King

Edward's school noted how the

'dread with which suspension as a punishment is regarded 1 showed how much attendance was valued. ' Thus whether rewards were ,(2) to be used as in the Blue Coat school ' as a stimulus to their exertions or whether they were used as a more direct disciplinary agent, their importance and use in Birmingham increased considerably.

III

In the developing pattern of Anglican education seen so far, it was natural that as organization,method, curriculum and discipline changed, there was a consequent effect on the teachers. The increase in the number of school places and the drive to get children to school meant that many more teachers were needed, and it also meant that expectations of them would also be different.

One of the first features of the existing teacher situation called into question was that of the standard and state of teachers. Already it has been seen that the most prestigous school, the Free Grammar School, was in a very poor state in the early 1830*s, and as Chapter 5 showed Anglican education by 1828 was in a definite decline in Birmingham, Throughout the period in question the problem of obtaining good teachers was paramount; in 1847 the master at St. Philips was a local lay reader in the parish who was temporarily employed, and the teacher at St. Mary's Girls 1 School was

(1) GOR, 3.7.47.

(2) Bl.Gt.Mins. May 1843, p.207. - 261 -

'a minor; her attainments are not high . . . '(l)

The Rev. Charles Graven wrote to the National Society answering a question on the efficiency of his school mistress:-

'I certainly am of the opinion that she is not so .... There is .... a fundamental deficiency of knowledge and method . . I . She was the best I could get under the circumstances.(2)

From the l830's on increasing concern was shown by clergyman

or school committees to get better suited, qualified teachers. The

Governors of King Edwards in 1835 noted that the new writing master must be

'of superior qualifications and greater efficiency 1

than the last one had been. ' This concern was not just limited to

day schools but also to Sunday schools. Writing in 1854 Rev. George Lea

stated that

'A common-place teacher, now-a-days, will hardly do even for a country village. But for a Sunday School in Birmingham, where every variety of error, of difficulty, of sin, is on every side; .... it cannot, must not be.'(4)

The Rev. Feild in his diocesan report felt that much of the trouble and

poor performance in schools was because teachers often had other jobs.

This was wrong as it meant interruptions and was injurious to the schools

and pupils.

Certainly up to mid century many teachers had other forms of

employment, though this number began declining from the 1830's when

(1) Mins. GGE, 1847-8, Vol.1, p.151; 1851-2, Vol.2, p.109.

(2) NSLF, St. Peter's, 26.10.46.

(3) GOR, 24.3.35-

(4) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.51» - 262 - various controls came to be applied to teaching. In some cases teachers taught at more than one school, as in the case of St. Thomas's where the master of the daily school was also

'teacher of the night schools where the more deserving of the Sunday scholars learn writing and arithmetic. He is also librarian of the little library to which he attends one night in the week.'(l)

The Statistical Report of 1838 compiled a table on "Information Relative to the Teachers" which detailed the numbers with or without other occupations. Virtually 95$ of these charity schools' teachers had other occupations, but in the Infant schools the position was the reverse; the teachers in all 7 schools apparently held no other occupation. Although Wood's figures do not break down teachers to male and female, it seems that the difference between charity and infant schools lay in the infant teachers probably being women with lower financial expectancies than the mostly male charity school teachers. (2)

It was not just that teachers might have other occupations which would divert their attention from schooling, in some cases the amount of work they had to do within a school prevented their whole attention being given to their teaching. In the Blue Coat School, for example, the Master not only had the responsibility of superintending and teaching, and taking assemblies and watching dining, but he also had to act as Secretary and accountant to the school. This involved subscription collecting, arrears collection, attending visitors, preparing ballots for pupil admission, obtaining print for charity sermons, examination of school fabric for repairs and all other school business. It was said

(1) NSLF, St. Thomas, 19.1.44.

(2) Wood 1838, Tables 7, P-l8. - 263 -

•He cannot calculate with any certainty upon devoting any particular hour at his Glass, as he is liable to be called away any moment.'(l)

Teachers were often in the position of having to take extra jobf, to earn sufficient money. The master and mistress of St. Peters National (2) School resigned in 1846 because they could not make adequate wages.

This was not unusual. J.R. Wood commented on the question of teacher remuneration that

'as things are at the present, the better qualified the master is, the sooner he leaves ... because a school does not afford him a sufficient renumeration.'

¥ood added that recently one of the best masters in Birmingham had given up teaching for a partnership as a coal merchant. '

It was becoming obvious to school providers that if good teachers were wanted better wages would have to be paid. The King Edwards schools increased the wages paid to the elementary teachers over the years.

The mistresses of the elementary schools receiving £50 in 1838-9, £60 in

1846 rising to £75 p.a. in 1849* The assistant mistresses salaries rose also from £15 p.a. in 1838-9 to £35 P-a. by 1850. The masters' salaries of £120 + £20 rent allowance were increased in 1853. A similar realization came to the Blue Coat Committee. Following the resignation of the Master and Matron in 1847 they noted that they would have to pay an adequate salary to attract an able man:

'Liberal salaries are indispensable to secure talent and experience .... a high salary may not indeed infallibly secure such .... but .... without liberal offers we have no right to expect that such

(1) Bl.Ct.Mins. May 1843, p.226.

(2) NSLF, St. Peter's, 2.10.46.

(3) Slaney 1838, pp.126-128, q.1370; q.1391. - 264 -

rarely qualified persons should present themselves. f (l)

The salary they offered their headmaster in 1847 was £120 p.a. with £60

p.a. to his assistant, and £30 p.a. to the Mistress with £20 p.a. to her

assistant. Particularly in the case of National Schools, who partly

depended on school pence to make up a teacher's wage, it was not always

possible to offer an ample salary. The Rev. G.S. Bull commented on a

new teacher coming to St. Matthew's

•If he's frugally disposed he will perhaps be content - if his ideas are on the Ascending Scale he can remove.'(2)

The difficulties of gathering enough money for adequate salaries

meant that economies were made where possible. One area where savings

could be made was in the education of girls, where women teachers were

paid lower wages than men and also girls schools were often not opened

to complement the opening of boys' schools but came later. This

reflected the contemporary gender-based bias against the female and

female education. This was also seen in the appointment of second-best

to the Blue Coat Girls 1 school. The committee in considering the

appointment of a school mistress noted,

'Nor should a judicious and well directed economy be overlooked during the present depressed state of our funds; and this it was thought could be easiest effected by patronizing modest merit, and engaging with a person of humble, simple views, and whose expectations were neither too ambitious nor too elevated.'(3)

Payment and recruitment of teachers was not such a problem for

(1) Bl.Ct.Mins.. Oct. 1847, p.603 ff.

(2) NSLF, St. Matthews, 15.11.41.

(3) Bl.Ct.Sub.Mins., 20.4.36. - 265 - the Sunday schools where many of them came from within the congregation and served voluntarily. In 1838 J. Wood reported that of 15 Anglican

Sunday Schools in Birmingham, 10 were staffed by voluntary teachers and

5 had some paid teachers with the rest voluntary. ' The clergy still

tended to appoint or select the teachers for the Sunday School. The

Rev. J.B. Collison selected from his congregation the teachers for his

Sunday school, and a similar watch was kept over St. George's schools by Rev. J. Garbett who noted,

'My own schools are happily sanctioned by a large attendance of teachers from the most respectable young members of my congregation whose influence is great and on whose principles much dependance may be placed.' (2)

Despite many of the problems facing the Anglican schools in Birmingham as regards teaching staff it seems from the Diocesan report that the standard of many was high and that the reasons for lack of success lay elsewhere. Rev. Feild noted that

'The masters in the schools of the manufacturing towns, and especially in Birmingham, seem men of considerable talents and attainments; and failures in their schools are not owing to want of ability and exertions on their part.'(3)

As the 1840's progressed the abilities and suitability of teachers improved. This was partly due to the training of some teachers for a limited period by the National Society at their central school; and later, though this had little effect until after 1851, by the introduction of pupil teachers. The Committee of Council minutes noting a report by Rev. Bellairs^commented

(1) Wood 1838. Table 17.

(2) NSLF, St. George's, 4.6.42. (3) Feild, 1841. - 266 - on the effect of pupil teachers leaving school, and shows the vr: lue placed on them by the teacher. The teacher in question, at St. George's

Boys 1

•had to contend with very great difficulties from the loss of his pupil teachers. This should to some extent, excuse the unsatisfactory condition of the school. ... The master states that he feels confident that .... (the loss in numbers will be made up). . . if new pupil-teachers are apprenticed, and that the standard of the school has been lowered in every respect since the pupil-teachers left.'(l)

Although the introduction of training helped, it was still very short, and experienced teachers were not produced from this training.

St. George's Girls' School managers experienced great difficulty, Rev. Bellairs commented,

'in securing the services of an efficient mistress.'(2)

The effective period of training for teachers did not increase much over the period. Mrs. Chell, the Pinfold St. National School mistress, described to the Children's Employment Commission how she

•went to the central school of the National Society, to be trained, and remained nearly 12 months . . . then she . . . had charge of the central school in Baldwin's Gardens, for 4 months, under Mrs. Johnson.'(3)

The position of All Saints' Schools in 1847-8 was typical of many, the master had had a four month training at Cheltenham, the mistress five months, and the Infant teacher was untrained.

(1) Mins.CCE, 1851-2, Vol. II, p.109.

(2) Ibid., 1850-1, Vol. II, p.110.

(3) CEC 1843, f.197, no.516.

(4) Mins. GCE, 1847-8, Vol. 1, p.153. - 26? -

IV

The Anglican expansion of schooling was mainly through the extension of the existing system. There were, however, new forms which although not in the mainstream of provision by 1851, need mentioning as an index of further Anglican activity. These newer- developments aimed at providing schooling for those missed by the existing network - either because they were too poor to attend, or because they were in day time employment.

The development of "ragged schools" was seen as an answer to the problem of unemployed children who could not afford schooling. Ragged

schools developed in Birmingham mainly after 1851, outside the scope of

this thesis, but were to be of considerable importance. A small number were founded prior to l851> either by benevolent individuals (e.g. William

Chance) or as church-directed efforts as in St. Philip's Ragged School. '

Ragged scholars in general were

'weak and unhealthy, through the want of sufficient or wholesome food . . . half clothed, in miserable rags; many . . . without shoes and stockings; most of them filthy in their persons and habits.'(2)

The remedy offered was the feeding, clothing, schooling in the 3 R's, religion and industrial training, aimed at making the children independent and thus not a responsibility on society.

Among other aspects of Anglican provision was the further extension of evening schooling; their emphasis was the 3 R's and they were often connected to National Schools. A further form of provision was in the

(1) VCH, Warwicks, Vol. VII, pp.505 and 508.

(2) Birmingham Free Industrial School, First Annual Report, (Birmingham 1851), pp.10-11. - 268 - factory schools run by employers. Again there are few examples of these prior to 1851, the most notable being run by R.W. lilnfield, and

William Chance. ' There was also an increase during the period of

social-community activities connected to the schools:- benefit societies,

sick clubs, clothing clubs, parochial libraries, and etcetera.

Such developments represented a change of emphasis in the Anglican approach to education. It moved from being one charity among many in the

1820*s to being seen as perhaps the agency for dealing with social

problems by the 1850 f s. Why was there this change in Anglican attitude?

What reasons account for the considerable acceleration of Anglican efforts in the 1830's and 1840's?

PART B. The reasons behind the changes in Anglican schooling

This change in Anglican effort has been .shown to have been reflected

in developments in curriculum, method, discipline and the tone of

education. The answer to the question "Why was this so?" lies partly

in a change not mentioned so far in this chapter, but which was highlighted in Chapter 3. This was the change in committee membership structure, and in particular the increase in the number of clergymen involved in running schools. As Table 21 showed, the clergy percentage share of

Anglican committee places rose from 14|-$ to 25f$ by 1828-1851 period, and approximately 77$ of clergy active in education provision between 1781-1851 were active in the period 1828-1851. As Chapter 3 suggested, this change reflected an alteration in the attitudes of the Anglican clergy to their

(l) Morning Chronicle, 2.10.50, A series of letters on "Labour and the Poor", Letter VIII on "The Employment and Education of Children." - 269 - social role. There was a growth of their concern for social and religious problems and part of their reaction was the increase and improvement of educational facilities. This was particularly reflected in the growth of National Schools, but also in the general improvement of other Anglican schools, and the increasing acceptance by the clergy of lay participation.

In 1828 the Anglican church in Birmingham was in a far from dynamic state. The two leading churches were in the hands of absentee rectors;

Rev. Curtis of St. Martins residing at his other rectory in Solihull; and Rev. Gardner, who spent most of his time in London, rather than at , (l) St. Philips. ' Three of the chapels in the town were occupied by clergymen who were also full time teachers at the Free Grammar School

(Revs. Kennedy, Cooke and Darwall), while two of the other livings were held in plurality by Rev. Burn (St. Marys and St. James, Ashted). Thus of the twelve livings in the Birmingham area, seven were without a full- time incumbent to look after their interests, although there were assistant clergy in most areas. This meant, though, that the leading figure of each parish was not able to devote his full energies to his flock.

Not only was the clergy not fully involved with its flock, it was also a very aged clergy. In 1826 half the cures were held by men over

65 years of age, and the average age of the twelve incumbents was 54i years,

As Table 44 shows many clergymen continued in office until their deaths, meaning in most cases a further decline in the standard of ministry. The table also shows six of the clergy in possession of their incumbency for an average of almost 40 years.

(l) D.E.H. Mole, 'Challenge to the Church in Birmingham, 1615-1865', in II.J. Dyos and Michael Wolff, The Victorian City; Images and Realities, 2 vols. (1973), Vol. 2, p.822. - 270 -

TABLE 44

BIRMINGHAM CLERGY DYING IN OFFICE c.1829-51

Incumbent Period of Incumbency Age at Death

C. Curtis (St. Martins) 1781-1829 (48 years) 73 L. Gardner (St. Philip's) 1821-1844 (23 years) 78 J. Cooke (St. Bartholomew's) 1816-1834 (18 years)* 78

C. Pixell (Edgbaston) 1794-1848 (54 years) 85 J. Darwall (St. John's) 1791-1828 (37 years) 68

E. Burn (St. Mary's) 1790-1837 (47 years) 77

*N.B. Cooke was Curate at St. Martins from 1793-1829.

The levels of absenteeism, pluralism, age and dual occupations

attained by most of the Birmingham clergy around 1828 naturally meant that

their involvement in the religious life and social problems of the towns was somewhat curtailed. This was reflected in the levels of clergy

participation in school committees. In the King Edwards Governing body,

as Table 45 shows, committee membership by members of the clergy was

fairly infrequent until the mid 1830's and later, when there was a marked

improvement. The Reverend A.J. Clarke was disqualified from the Board

of Governors in 1835 as he had not attended a meeting for over two years.

The Rev. L. Gardner's attendance over 19 years averaged out at about once

every two years. Clergy participation on the Blue Coat School Committee was also irregular in the pre 1835 years. On average there were five clergymen out of 25 committee members each year from 1804 onwards, and possibly the same earlier, although the records 1781-1803 are less thorough rnd not clear on the length of committee membership. What is certain is - 271 -

that the years 1828-1851 saw twice as many clergy active for the Blue

Coat School as in the period 1781-1804. The Rev. Hook wrote in 1828 that

the Blue Coat School had been greatly neglected by the clergy prior to

1827.^

TABLE 45

K.E. CLERGY GOVERNORS ATTENDANCE

-KT -v c- j $ Attend ———Name —————————Years Served 'at ,,Meetings , .

Rev. L. Gardner 1823-42 Rev. A.J. Clarke 1829-35

Rev. G. Hodson 1831-33 10$

Rev. J. Garbett 1835-58 * 75$ Rev. G.M. Yorke 1845-74 * 65$

*for years up to 1851 only.

This increase in Blue Coat committee participation by the clergy

was a reflection of increased clerical activity which was seen throughout

Birmingham in the l830's and l840's. The old, inactive and in many

cases absentee clergy were replaced, as they died, by much younger, more

active and concerned clerics. As Table 46 shows the average age of

clergy dropped by over 50$ i*1 the parishes where replacements occurred.

This was not the only means of the introduction of new clergy into

Birmingham. The actual number of clergymen in Birmingham increased

with an expansion of the number of parishes and churches or chapels.

Of 34 incumbents appointed 1828-51 "the ages of 28 are known at their

(1) W.R.W. Stephens, The Life and Letters of Walter Farquahar Hook, 2 vols., (1878), Vol.1, p.131.

(2) King Edward's School Birmingham, Governor's Attendance Register 1797-1878, (Manuscript); nb. misleading title only covers 1831- 1878; in KES Archives. - 272 - appointment. This shows that, on average, a newly appointed incumbent was 35ir years old. This influx of younger blood reflected itself in a fall of the average age of clergymen - in 1828 it was 54?; years (from 12 incumbencies) and in 1851 it had fallen to 42 years (22 incumbencies).

TABLE 46

INFLUX OF YOUNGER CLERGY 1828-31^

Old Incumbent Aged Eeplaced by Aged

Curt is 73 Moseley 26 Gardner 78 Yorke 35 Cooke 78 Nunns 34 Kennedy 75 Latimer 37 Burn 77 Barrett 26 Darwall 68 Palmer c.24

Pixell 85 Lillingston 36

Average age 76 31

The new, younger clergy who moved into the Birmingham Anglican parishes in the 1830's and 1840's in general were much keener to become involved with the problems of urban expansion. As regards schooling this is seen not just in the greater number involving themselves with providing schools, but also in improved attendance on committees of the

Blue Coat and King Edwards schools.

During the period 1781-1851 the working class had become more and more alienated and distanced from the Church of England. Mann's 1851

Census returns of religious attendance showed in Birmingham that only a

(l) Compiled from provider card index. - 273 - small proportion of the working class attended Anglican worship. '

This position was understood by Rev. J.C. Miller of St. Martin's who argued that for many years the Anglican church had been the church of the middle and upper classes and had little practical relevance to the working class. (2) Miller's view was that the clergy had to gain the

confidence of the working man, and this would not just be achieved through condescension or charity - understanding and sympathy was needed. Miller's view was confirmed in the parishes run by Reverends Nunns, Bull and Barrett, as well as his own, where this newer form of clerical approach meant that the working class could identify with the church - this being reflected in the growth of large working class congregations in these churches. Miller saw that part of the key to success with the working class was involvement;

'We must go among them; we must improve their dwellings; we must provide them with the means not only of mental self-improvement, but of physical recreation. f (3)

This approach was borne out in the work of many of the new clergymen who came to Birmingham after 1828, the rate increasing as the years progressed.

By the early nineteenth century many people began to attribute this failure of the Anglican church to the lack of accommodation for the masses in churches. The building of Christ Church 1803-13 was an attempt

to improve the situation, but as Table 47 shows, population growth was destined to match the increase in churches. This was not foreseen, and

(1) Census 1851, Religious Worship, England and Wales, Report and Tables, (1852-3) Ixxxix, p.ccliii. This showed just under one fifth of the population at morning service, and less than half of those were at Anglican services; most of those attending were of the middle class

(2) J.C. Miller, The Church of the People.

(3) J.C. Miller, Home Heathen, p.22. - 274 - church building became an important part of Anglican activity. In l8l8 a Church Extension meeting noted that about one person in eight in

Birmingham could be accommodated in church. ' By 1828 four new churches had been built, but this made little difference to the proportion of the population that could be accommodated.

TABLE 47

ANGLICAN CHURCH ACCOMMODATION AND BIRMINGHAM'S POPULATION (2)

Year No, of Churches Ratio of churches to population

1801 8 1 : 9,209

1811 8 1 : 10,719

1821 10 1 : 10,672

1831 13 1 : 10,535

1841 18 1 : 10,162

1851 22 1 : 10,584

Churchmen felt that this lack of accommodation for the working class

- a lack accentuated by the necessity in most churches to pay a pew rent

- was a major threat to the safety of the church. The provision of free

seats in new churches increased and in the 1830's there was further effort

to extend church coverage. Diocesan Church Building Societies were

formed to give financial aid to local schemes. The Lichfield society

was founded in 1835 and contributed to six Birmingham churches. There

t:as also a locally sponsored scheme led by Rev. J. Garbett to build ten

churches in five years in Birmingham. He noted that while the population had quadrupled the accommodation in churches had only doubled. This

(1) Langford, Birmingham Life, Vol. II, p.351.

(2) Information compiled from decennial censuses and VCH, Warwicks. Vol.7 - 275 - scheme never fully succeeded as only five churches were built in ten years between 1838-1848.^

The increasing number of churches meant an increase in the number of clergy with new incumbents, curates, etc.; but this was not enough to deal with the increasing problems of urban life in Birmingham. Part of the difficulty lay in parish organization, a fact recognized by Rev.

Thomas Moseley who became Rector of St. Martins in 1829 on the death of

Rev. Curtis. Moseley, a conscientious Evangelical, felt that Birmingham

Anglican life needed invigoration, and so in 1829 he called all the

Anglican clergy to a meeting. At this meeting it was decided to divide

St. Martin's parish into districts (on an informal basis)

'with a view to remedy the deficiency of spiritual superintendence which the want of ecclesiastical division necessarily creates.'(2)

The want of ecclesiastical division was caused by the considerable and complicated legal difficulties involved in making new parishes out of old,

these arising from questions of land tenure, tithe rights, etc. In order that the planned rectories of St. Thomas, St. George, and All

Saints might attain legal status, it was necessary for the Rev. Moseley to resign from and be re-appointed to St. Martins, thus enabling changes to St. Martin's to be made in the interim period. A report of the meeting noted that

'The clergy being .... resident near their respective places of worship, or in a populous part of the parish, will experience little difficulty

(1) D.E.H. Mole, The Church of England in Society in Birmingham, 1830-1 Thesis, Ph.D., University of Cambridge, (1961), pp.38-42.

(2) AG. 23.11.29. in carrying their object into execution; and their labours in this wide field may be greatly facilitated by subordinate lay assistance . . . .'(l)

This reference to lay assistance revealed that the Evangelical movement was exerting some force in the area - and it was to the Evangelicals that much of the force behind the Anglican 'change of gear 1 in the l830's and 1840 f s must be ascribed.

II

Before considering the impact of Evangelicalism, it is important to briefly define its social philosophy at this time. The Evangelicals, although concerned for the preservation of the Established Church and (2) State, ' saw themselves as a revitalizing force in the Anglican church

and society. Consequently they involved themselves in a great deal of work in both social welfare and educational provision. But, there uas more to their philosophy than just a benevolent activism. They perceived material problems from the point of view of the salvation of the soul,

this was of prime importance and penetrated all their pastoral work. ' Whether visiting the sick, dispensing charity or teaching children - their aim was conversion, to make the populace wise to salvation. ' Their work was not just social alleviation, it was also a moral exhortation and

spiritual investigation. They were primarily concerned with the condition of the soul; adverse physical conditions stood in the way of

(1) Ibid.

(2) Owen Chadwick, The Victorian Church, Part 1, (1966), p.441; Kiernan, •Evangelicalism 1 , p.44.

(3) Mole, C. of E. in Birmingham, pp.71-82.

(4) Chadwick, Victorian Church, p.442; Mole, C. of E. In Tiirmin.':hpn, pp.71-82. - 277 - their goal BO they had to be overcome, hence the considerable social effort. This nature of their concern should be borne in mind when considering their social activism, especially as seen in the field of schooling.

During the years 1828-1851 Evangelicalism took control of

Birmingham's Anglican clergy. In 1828 three incumbents were evangelicals; by 1851 well over half of the incumbents were evangelical, only two were strong High Churchmen. The surge of evangelicalism started in 1829 when the advowson of St. Martins was vested in evangelical trustees, with conditions analogous to those of the Simeon Trust. This secured the

"mother-church" of Birmingham for the evangelicals. The rectors following this change, Moseley and Miller, were both conscientious evangelicals.

The reorganization of St. Martins, and the creation of rectories for

Saints Thomas, George and All Saints resulted in their advowsons being under the control of St. Martin's trustees and consequently they too were secured to the evangelical cause. Similarly, St. Bartholomew's and later in the 1840*s the new livings of St. Matthew and St. Andrew came under evangelical control. (2)v '

As regards general church policy in Birmingham, considerable influence was exercised by the local diocesan, the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.

Prom 1781-1824 this position had been held by James (later Earl) Corrr,:allis,

Bishop Cornwallis was opposed to Parliamentary interference with the church and consequently he helped block or delay local attempts by clergy and

(1) J.T. Bunce, 'St. Martin's Church 1 , Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society, 1870, (Birmingham 1871), p.11. nb. Lord Calthorpe, and Rev. W. Marsh (of St. Thomas's) were original Simeon Trustees, Cf. Chadwick, Victorian Church, Vol. 1. p.449.

(2) &ole, C. of E. in Birmingham, p.89. - 278 - laity to extend church provision through church building.^ ' A major change came with the elevation to Lichfield-Coventry in 1824 of Henry

Ryder, Bishop of Gloucester, the first evangelical to have been raised to the bench. Ryder was an able, active and reforming bishop and was much concerned with the state of his diocese. It has been said that the

importance of his ministry lay in his avowal of evangelical views and

his pastoral work, rather than in his theological views. (2)' Ryder

encouraged church building and helped launch the Church Building Society

in Birmingham; cut down non-residence in the diocese by one-ninth by

1832, and introduced many young enthusiastic evangelicals to positions

in the diocese. He also, as W.F. Hook noted in correspondence to

Samuel Butler, created new chapels in crowded districts to help deal with

urban problems. (2)

Ryder's presence was sooii felt in Birmingham when in 1824 he

appointed the evangelical Rev. Hodson to succeed the decidedly non-

evangelical Rev. J.H. Spry at Christ Church. In 1827, Ryder created

Rev. William Spooner as Archdeacon, and in 1829 gave the other local

archdiaconate to Rev. Hodson, completing a local hierarchy of Evangelicals,

The other local living directly in the Bishop's gift was St. Philip's,

where there was no evangelical tradition. There is little doubt if

Ryder had had the chance he would have installed an evangelical, because

the lecturer there, acting for the absentee rector, Rev. Dr. Gardener,

was the high church Rev. W.F. Hook. The latter had few doubts that

! Dr. G's successor would do everything in his power

(1) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.293

(2) G.C.B. Davies, The First Evangelical Bishop; Some Aspects of the life of Henry Ryder, (Tyndale Press 1958), p.11.

(3) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.328. - 279 -

to render my situation disagreeable, and thus force me to resign. . . .'(l)

Bishop Ryder died in 1836 and was replaced by the non-evangelical

Bishop Samuel Butler. This change had little effect on Birmingham for in 1837 Birmingham, with the rest of the archdeaconry of Coventry, was moved to the diocese of Worcester. The Bishops of Worcester from then to 1851, Robert James Carr and Henry Pepys, were both moderate evangelicals, so that the evangelical spread of influence continued.

Evangelical patronage and encouragement did not just involve the clergy, for Birmingham had quite a considerable lay Evangelical base.

The focus of this was Lord Calthorpe's family which controlled the livings of Edgbaston Old Church and the newly built St. George's, Edgbaston. In the network of inter-related families that was part of the Birmingham social elite the "Calthorpe's" were cousins of the Spooners, also an evangelical family. Archdeacon Spooner, mentioned earlier, was one of the trustees with the Calthorpes for appointing clergy to Edgbaston St.

George. The first incumbent of that church was his nephew Isaac (son of

Richard Spooner M.P.), the second incumbent another nephew, Edward

Lillingstone. Isaac Spooner later left St. George TEdgbaston to become incumbent of Edgbaston Parish Church. The network of relationships spread further:- the Spooners were related to the Wilberforces, who in turn were related to the Bird family. A representative of this family, Edward Bird, became Rector of St. Thomas's in 1842, and was also cousin to John Bird Sumner, later Archbishop of Canterbury and Charles

Richard Sumner, Bishop of Winchester. It is perhaps not surprising that Bishop Butler wrote to Rev. Hook

'The Evangelicals .... have brought ur>, by what

(l) Stephens, Letters of W.F. Hook, Vol. 1, p.121. - 280 -

I think an unconstitutional, if not illegal confederacy, all the advowsons they can lay hold of in populous places . . . .'(l)

In Birmingham the effects of evangelicalism soon became apparent.

The appointment of Rev. Moseley and his division of the town in 1829 into informal areas to improve spiritual superintendance has already been referred to. The development of parochial visiting societies came the following year. These lay societies were to help the clergy by providing information on the spiritual and temporal needs of the pastoral area in question, and a further function noted by Aris's Gazette was

'encouraging parents and others to avail themselves of Sunday and weekly schools.'(2)

The first incumbent at St. Thomas's, Rev. William Marsh developed a powerful evangelical parish organization during his ministry there. In

1833 he founded the St. Thomas's Provident Association and was zealous in his concern for it, particularly the savings aspect of the Association.

He wrote that he wished he

'could write all across the sky, in letters of gold, the one word, "Savings bank".'(3)

St. George's schools had a provident society, clothing club and ladies

Dorcas society by 1849? and at Christ Church during Rev. Breay's incumbency was a provident society giving payments during sickness and on death. ' Evangelical influence was also behind the founding of the inter-denominational Town Mission, in which co-operation with Dissent

(1) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.328.

(2) AG. 4.1.30.

(3) Mole, C. of E. in Birmingham, p.299.

(4) White, B'ham Directory 1849, p.l6; NSLF Christ Church, 18.1.37. - 281 - was undertaken in attempting to bring spiritual and material aid to the poorer quarters of the town.

The churches began to see themselves as missionary centres in the midst of areas of religious indifference or apathy. They tried to encourage church attendance and participation through the developments of these various societies and also through the use of lay assistance.

This latter move was contentious as far as many non-evangelical clergy were concerned, seeing in it a threat to the rights of the ordained clergy.

This development was supported by Bishop Ryder, who was also in favour of the Pastoral Aid Society formed in 1836. 'Jith episcopal support and the spread of evangelical clergy in Birmingham, the use of laymen in church work expanded. The evangelicals saw adverse social conditions as a challenge to their church and faith, and much of their effort was directed at combatting this challenge. Failure to do this, it was thought, would result in the triumph of Dissent or irreligion, something which would be anathema to the Church of England.

One of the ways evangelical concern manifested itself was through the encouragement of schooling for the working class. Schools were seen as important agencies in aiding the improvement of the social condition, they were also seen as being invaluable in returning the working class population to Christianity, and to the evangelical Anglican church.

Many of the letters written by clergymen to the National Society requesting aid stress the urgency of their need as being due to the possibility of

"rival denomination" schools being erected and thus winning over the local population. The Rev. G.S. Bull wrote in the early 1840's that he wanted to start his school quickly, as the

'Baptists are .... going to open a very large Chapel which they h~vo built close to the church & expressedly in opposition to it .... I want - 282 -

to be in advance of them. I shall certainly lose two or three years if I don't start now.'(l)

The efforts by other denominations to educate were seen as a threat, The Lecturer at St. Bartholomew's noted in 1844 that

'the Roman Catholics and Dissenters of almost every denomination are making great efforts to get the education of the rising generation in this district into their hands . . . .'(2)

The efforts by Evangelicals in education were seen in their increasing participation on school committees and the great deal of effort and energy expended by them in obtaining and maintaining schooling. As-D.H. Mole has suggested, there are difficulties in the way of determining who amongst laymen were evangelicals. However, certain families were known to be evangelicals and there are strong suppositions that can be made about others. From these it can be suggested that the King Edward's, Blue Coat and National Schools' governing bodies were all influenced by the growing presence of evangelicalism in Birmingham. By 1851 almost half the King Edward's Governors were probably evangelicals, if not more, including such men as Lord Calthorpe and Richard Spooner M.P., both members of strong evangelical families. The Blue Coat and various national school committees also reveal a considerable evangelical presence.

The role played by individual evangelicals within the committee framework, or within the bounds of encouraging an individual school was considerable. Rev. John Garbett, an early evangelical appointment to St. George's in 1822 was an indefatigable worker for educational and social causes. An obiturist noted that

(1) NSLF, St. Matthew's, undated 0.1840.

(2) NSLF, St. Bartholomew's, 11.3.44.

(3) Mole, G. of E. in Birmingham, p.91. - 283 -

'in organizing the educational machinery of that populous district, he was one of the earliest and most zealous labourers . . . .'(l)

Within a couple of years of his appointment Garbett commenced a parish school. He wrote to the National Society in 1834 asking for aid and noted

'In l824j I erected School Rooms for about three or four hundred children.'(2)

The years up to 1851 were ones of considerable involvement in the St.

George national school by Rev. Garbett as the letter files of the National

Society bear witness. Rev. Garbett's educational work was not limited to the National Society, for from 1821-1856, with only a few breaks, he was a constant member of the Blue Coat Schbol Committee, and from 1835-

1856 he was also a Governor of the King Edward's Schools. On the governing bodies of these two schools he was also a regular member of their "school" sub-committees; at Blue Coat from at least 1835J and at King Edward's from 1836-40 on the "Elementary School Committee", where he attended 23 out of 30 meetings in the five years, and also on the

"schools" committee from 1844-51. The elementary school committee had a decisive influence over their development, the Governors rubber- stamping virtually all their decisions. This committee had seven particularly active members, thus Garbett's influence as one of three most regular members would probably have been considerable.

The Rev. George Stringer Bull had a considerable reputation as a socially concerned parson from his work for the Ten Hours Movement in

(1) J.A. Langford, Modern Birmingham and its Institutions, 2 vols, (Birmingham, n.d.) Vol. 1, p.449-

(2) NSLF, St. George's, 23.1.34.

(3) Compiled from GOR and KES Elem. Cttee L'ins, various entries.

(4) Tyson, Elementary Education . . . KES, pp.131-179. - 284 -

Yorkshire. ' His move to St. Matthew's in Birmingham in 1840 and later to St. Thomas 1 saw no diminution in his efforts to evangelize and encourage both education and social improvement among his parishioners.

Almost immediately after his appointment to St. Matthew's Bull was agitating to commence a school. He informed the National Society secretary that

'I must now lay close siege to your good society for all the help I can get towards schoolrooms for this yet unbroken ground. I can do nothing without schools.'(2)

Within a year he had both Sunday and day schools in operation. The Rev.

Bull was a forthright man and his exertions provided much benefit in schooling and other community projects. When suffering communication difficulties with the Committee of Council, Bull wrote and complained that

'This is a paltry way of doing business and smacks much (saving their Lordships' dignity) of shuffling.'(3)

Bull certainly achieved results, and was well thought of by his Diocesan, who wrote to the National Society

'There is not a more respectable Clergyman in my diocese than Rev. Bull, or one who has exerted himself more to promote Education among the Children of the immense population under his Charge.'(4)

The schools developed under Bull and in 1842 he offered them as a teacher training centre for the Midlands. ' In 1846 the Rev. Moseley in his

(1) Cf. J.C. Gill, The Ten Hours Parson, (1959); J.C. Gill, Parson Bull of Byerly, (1963).

(2) NSLF, St. Matthews, 23.10.40.

(3) Ibid., 2.12.40.

(4) Ibid. 0.1844. Date uncertain.

(5) Ibid. 26.7.42. - 285 - report to the Committee of Council commented that as far as St. T.'attheu's schools were concerned, it was

'to the indefatigable labours of the Rev. S. Bull that these schools owe their efficiency. f (l)

After his move to St. Thomas, Bull continued in a similar fashion.

The influence and effect of individual evangelicals spread throughout the Anglican community, and part of the evangelical influence was to encourage non-evangelicals along similar paths; the latter fearing a loss of influence if they did not provide that which was bringing some signs of success to the evangelical parishes. Thus as new parishes were formed in the l840's one of the first provisions came to be, in most cases, the institution of Sunday and, as soon as possible, day schools.

The introduction of lay men into an educational role has already been suggested as one of the effects of evangelical development. This not only took place with laymen on school committees but also in the development of other aspects of parish educational and social life. Rev.

Bull's correspondence showed his indebtedness to his church wardens who interested themselves both actively and financially in the work of his parish. He referred to them as 'brothers'. (2)' J.O. Bacchus, one of the churchwardens (also a K.E. Governor and Blue Coat Committee member) visited the school in the parish and noted the needy cases amongst the pupils, he told Bull to

'keep an account against me for their assistance, and if you do not exceed 20/- weekly, I shall never complain, but will settle with you every fortnight.'(3)

(1) Mins. GCE, 1846, Vol. 1, p.217.

(2) Gill, Parson Bull, p.138. (3) Ibid. - 286 -

One other avenue of lay involvement, apart from their being involved in the schools as teachers was as visitors in the parish visiting societies or as instructors in congregational Instruction Societies, though this did not involve lay individuals directly with children - parents and adults coming more into the spheres of these societies.

The spread of evangelicalism through clergy and laymen into many

of the older areas and most of the new ecclesiastical districts brought many, if not most schools of the provided sector under evangelical dominance.

The results of this evangelicalism were seen in the changes in tone,

curriculum and discipline already discussed. The move towards love and kindness, and the need for a reasoned disciplinary system had been

illustrated in a speech by Rev. Bull at Bradford, some eight years before

he came to Birmingham, when he commented on the lateness of Sunday scholars:

'I feel my very heart smite me when I am scolding these poor children for coming late to school. It is not at all extraordinary that they should take an extra nap on Sunday morning.'(l)

The move towards secular subjects for day schools and religious

subjects only for Sunday schools was a development furthered by the

evangelicals who were also strong Sabbatarians. Rev. Bird's views on

the matter of secular education on the Sabbath have already been quoted,

and his standpoint was taken by many. The Rev. Stenton Eardley of St.

Stephen's parish wrote in 1854 that Sunday schools were profaned by the teaching of weekday subjects, and it was to this that he ascribed the inefficiency of Anglican Sunday schools and led him to state

'I think the ordinary run of our Sunday Schools .... the disgrace, of the Church.'(2)

(1) Gill, Ten Hours Parson, p.21.

(2) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.129. - 287 - III The various impulses to Anglican expansion in schooling, though expressed locally, were in many cases part of a more general pattern; the themes and concerns of the Birmingham experience were also those occupying national discussion. There is a considerable literature on the national development of schooling, which needs little amplification here.

What does need mentioning is the nature of the local reception of national the debate. For the Anglicans, the clergy and/efficient communication network of church organization, obviously played a part, as did the close church - state links. There was a considerable influx of new clergy into

Birmingham as the churches expanded, several of these men having national repute? tions or family connections with national figures -(e.g. Revs. Bull,

Marsh, Bird, etc.) - men aware of national trends and pressures.

The increased concern being shown for education during and after the 1830's was part of the response of the Anglican church to the pressures facing it; the threat of dis-establishment, Catholic

Emancipation, and the fear of state intervention and control of aspects of society it felt should remain sacrosanct. When government inspection of schools was instituted in 1840 with a power of veto over choice of inspector in the hands of the archbishops, Bishop C.R. Sumner felt this to be

'the most objectionable part of the Government plan - the interference of Government, as a Government, in the management of education. f (l)

The church, in the face of growing moves for government interference, developed diocesan Boards of Education, expanded its te.-cher training and began to urge a wider curriculum and more effective methods and better standards. After the failure to carry the education clauses of Graham's

Factory Bill 1843, which would have brought education under Anglican

(l) Soloway, Prelates and People, p.407. - 288 - control to a large extent, the episcopate began to encourage the national

Society much more strongly. The growing pressures from government and national church sources to develop education which resulted from the struggles to gain control of education worked its effect on the locality in terms of helping increase provision, develop curriculum etc. as has already been seen. The result of this combined effort was often seen in newspaper advertisements announcing fund raising activities: a bazaar for St. Matthew's Schools was held in 1842 and it was detailed in the paper how the schools were erected

'By local exertions and by the grants of the National Society, the Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council on Education, and the Worcester Diocesan Board . . . f (l)

Much of the evidence presented suggests that it was the spread of evangelicalism that encouraged the development of education. This arising from the evangelical view that if the soul was to be saved it was necessary, in many cases, to help improve the social conditions of the individual first. This worked on the premise

'that the people are not to be talked and disputed, but to be influenced into religion . . . .'(2)

It has also been suggested that the blatent anti-working class rhetoric of the earlier period had fallen out of use. These examples perhaps suggest a change of aim. It should be noted, however, that education still retained elements of control. The change perhaps lay more in the mode of control.

J.F.C. Harrison has suggested thr.t the middle class, evangelical concern for the "condition of the people" was founded on two bases. The

(1) BJ. 23.4.42.

(2) Nunns, Letter to Lord Anhley, p.59. - 289 - first was a genuine Christian and humanitarian compassion for the social conditions in which the poorer elements of society lived; the second was fear and apprehension of the potential of those poorer elements.

The value they placed on education as a means of tackling social problems was not just to help and succour, but also because education was the

'best form of social police, inasmuch as it destroys the chief seeds of crime, want and ignorance.'(l)

During the nineteenth century this notion that crime could be lessened by the extension of schooling for working class children grew in strength. In 1832 Rev. Garbett wrote that

'disregard of duty to God and man (under which the whole catalogue of crimes may be classed) can be counteracted in no other way than by the application of those truths which the Holy Bible reveals .... SUNDAY SCHOOLS are of vast importance in this respect.'(2)

The value of schooling was seen to lie in the religious and moral truths which would be taught. The report of St. Matthew's schools to the

Archdeacon of Coventry at the visitation of 1843 noted that

'The outward moral effect of these several efforts has been visible to many and has been acknowledged by the head of the Police. f (3)

The comparison of crime statistics with levels of education to prove the usefulness of education were frequently found in newspapers, reports or correspondence. In 1842 the Birmingham Journal reprinted a set of crime figures for the county of Worcester. These figures suggested that out of

476 persons sent for trial only 27 were educated to the level of reading and writing well - the rest were either fully or partially illiterate.

(1) Harrison, Learning and Living, p.77> quoting John Wade.

(2) NSLF, Report of St. George's Sunday Schools and Infnnt Schools, 1832.

(3) I-ISLF, St. Matthew's, 1843- - 290 -

The Birmingham Journal argued that

'Surely these facts bear witness .... to the necessity of educating - morally and religiously educating - the lower orders, as the only practicable remedy for that fearful amount of crime which now stalks through the land . . . .'(l)

In this context education was seen as a force for aiding social stability through a social conformity to the laws of the land, the moulding of an

errant group in the population to fit the cultural norms held by the

controlling sector of society.

It has been suggested that a national system of education is one of

the main agencies of political philosophy, and that there is an essential

harmony between prevalent social philosophy and the ideals taught in a

nation's schools. (2)' The work done by J.M. Goldstrom on the social

content of educational books bears this out. Goldstrom has noted the

move to a secularization of education in the 1840's, seen also in

Birmingham, and he has shown the development in "Readers" used by the

working class of the notions of Political Economy. There was a stress

on the need to accept the existing economic order, and the futility of

actions by either trade unions or government. Secular readers contained

'all the essentials of teaching that the middle classes desired to imprint upon the working man* 1 (3)

The fear and apprehension of the masses, which Harrison suggested was one of the bases for middle class concern and action, w^s reflected

(1) BJ, 31.12.42.

(2) G.F.A. Bent, 'The ^elijious Difficulties of National Education in England, 1800-1870', Cambridge Historical Journal, Vol XII (1956), No.l, p.160.

(3) Goldstrom, Social Content, pp.124-5. - 291 - in the expressed desire for social peace and harmony. Again it was felt in many quarters that religion and the use of religion in education would help ensure a social peace. In a letter to Lord Ashley urging reform of the church and the introduction of compulsory education, Rev.

T. Nunns noted the value to society of a religiously educated populace:

'An immoral and irreligious people can never be a safe and contented people. A religious population cannot be any other.*(l)

In 1842 "when Chartists and members of the Complete Suffrage Association were actively pursuing their ends, an appeal for the extension of schooling in St. Philips noted that

'At no time have the efforts of Christians of the Church of England to inculcate her doctrines upon the minds of the rising generation been more necessary . . . .'(2)

An accompanying letter to this appeal from the churchwarden (?), .

Richards (also a King Edward's School Governor) added that

'It is the duty of the Church to provide for the religious education of the poor and with such precautions in the manufacturing districts the state will not have much to fear from anarchy and disloyalty.'(3)

It was not just peace and social harmony through schooling that was being aimed for, but also as an adjunct to that the remoulding of the older plebian culture into a more respectable and acceptable form. Rev,

J. Garbett noted in 1842 that the schools in his parish

(1) Nunns, Letter to Lord Ashley, p.6l.

(2) NSLF, St. Philip's, 4.6.42. (3) Ibid. - 292 -

'for the Religious culture of the rising generation ...' were staffed by teachers

'from the most respectable young membeis of my congregation.*

Considerable stress was placed by many on the need for bringing respectability to the rising generation. This was advanced, as V. Kiernan has shown, by the coming together through evangelicalism of several developing sections of the middle class, and their perception of how a (2) respectable middle class could lead a respectable working class.

The development of "respectability" was furthered by movements for

temperance, Sabbath observance and by the breaking down of the old popular

culture. ' The latter was attacked via the pulpit, the press and the

law. The evidence given to the Children's Employment Commission on the

state of part of All Saint's parish revealed this attacking philosophy in

its perception of the traditional popular bull-baiting being connected to

the neglect of the area.

'The population of Nineveh is much behind the rest of Birmingham in moral, religious and intellectual habits. Bull-baiting was only given up two years ago, being kept up longer than in any other part near Birmingham . . . there is a great want of a day school for the children of Nineveh . . . .'(4)

Edward Thompson has suggested the importance of the loss of leisure and

(1) NSLF, St. George's, 4.6.42.

(2) Kiernan, 'Evangelicalism', p.54.

(3) Cf. Harrison, Learning and Living, p.40 ff; Reid, 'Saint Monday'; Harrison, 'Religion and Recreation 1 , pp.98-125.

(4) CEC 1843, f.194, no.508. - 293 - the repression of playful impulses in the passing away of pre-industrial traditions. There is little doubt that evangelicalism played a major role in the development of respectability and the urging of new cultural norms on the working class; though, as Edward Thompson rightly warns,

'it is proper to be cautious when meeting the claims of the Evangelicals to have been an agency of intellectual enlightenment.'(2)

There was a definite feeling amongst many of the school providers that if working class children were not moulded into conformity with the

Anglican social viewpoint they would fall victims of the blandishments of either Dissent or, what was worse, ungodly socialism or socinianism.

Rev. Garbett in 1842 referred to the children he was unable to receive into the Sunday schools (because of lack of accommodation); they were, unfortunately, because of this

'abandoned either for Dissent or more generally to utter ungodliness.'(3) wThe following year the clergy at All Saints wrote to the National Society, and, commenting on the lack of education facilities in the parish, noted that

'the consequence is that chartism, Socialism, & every species of vice & evil always find here numbers of willing dupes .... Indeed I know of no place where schools are more wanted.'(4)

The minister at Bishop Ryder's church noted the need for schooling in his area^ for nearby was an ex-Dissenting chapel which was by then the

(1) Thompson, Making, pp.448-9. (2) Ibid, p.451 (3) NSLF, St. George's, 18.8.42. (4) HSLF, All Saints', 22.8.43. - 294 -

'head quarters of Socialism & common resort of all species of political mischief makers . . . .'(l)

This was almost certainly the Lawrence St. Chapel where the Chartist

Convention of 1839 had been held.

The desire to establish amongst the rising generation of the working

class acceptance of certain middle class social norms was reflected in

the continuance, albeit in a more subdued form, of exhortation to

obedience, respect for law and order, and habits of regularity and

punctuality. It was proclaimed by the promoters of St. Mark's schools

in 1842 that the establishing of day and infant schools was highly

desirable, as they would tend to promote

'among the rising generation those principles of respect for the laws of God and Man wiich are so essential to the well-being of the community at large. 'Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. lf (2)

The rules and regulations of Bishop Ryder's schools stressed the importance

attached to regularity of attendance and punctuality; (and these are

frequently echoed elsewhere), emphasis lying on "habits" - "duties" and

"order" within the rules. '

The rules of the Asylum school, to which children whose parents were receiving Poor Relief in the workhouse were sent, were in the 1840's

still heavily accentuating the need for industry, virtue and order, as

they had done at the turn of the eighteenth century. Among the duties of the teachers, apart from instruction in the 3 R's, was the need to

(1) NSLF, Bishop Ryder's, 2.3.40.

(2) NSLF, St. Mark's, 20.10.42.

(3) NSLF, Bishop Ryder's, 25.4.43. - 295 -

'train them up to habits of usefulness, industry, and virtue . . . (and to assist the Governor and Matron) ... in maintaining due subordination . . . f (l)

A local clergyman in 1843 complained of the breadth of curriculum taught

in the Asylum, it was inappropriate he felt to

•the humble stations of life in which they would be placed.«(2)

It was not just the Sunday, National or Asylum schools that continued

these "disciplinary" and social moulding concepts, but also the King

Edward's schools. The elementary schools' noted that as regards

discipline,

'Cleanliness, neatness of apparel ready obedience and respectful behaviour towards the Master and Teachers will be insisted upon ... An infraction of the rules respecting discipline and conduct will subject the boy so offending to punishment or dismissal.'(3)

Perhaps the best summing up of the perceived social value of

working class schooling was expressed by the Rev. Morse. In delineating

the types of boy who would benefit from Sunday school teaching, he stated;

'A third is the very boy to become a Chartist victim; jealous of his school-fellows and tenacious of his rights; never capping to his teachers, or moving off the pavement to his betters; covetous of ease and pleasure, but inclined to the most degrading idleness . . . (having) . . . treachery towards rightful authority.'(4)

(1) Rules and Regulations of the Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of Birmingham, (Birmingham. 1841 )• Rules 1 and 5, UP.20-21.

(2) BJ. 8.7.43. (Rev. J. Allport).

(3) KES. aieni.Mns., 20.12.37.

(4) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.79. - 296 -

Clerical evidence for various reasons has loomed large in the account of Anglican expansion, but the over simplification of seeing clergy initiative as solely responsible for increased schooling should be avoided.

The new clergy were coming into a situation of Anglican decline and loss of support, and part of their work was in a way competition for children; but it is not just who the new clergy were that is relevant, but what the situation was to which they came. The problem of-non attendance was a pre-condition of activism.

The changes in schooling during this period also reflected a change in the dominant social ideology. There was a growth of middle class and

Anglican liberalism as the middle classes developed a 'more benign social philosophy 1 (2) which still saw them as predominant but took a more positive view of the working class. This did not mean an end of attempts at cultural domination or manipulation. Despite Laqueur's views on the development of Sunday schools as working class institutions, as this

Chapter has shown, the Anglican Sunday schools were still heavily clerically controlled and middle class dominated. Chapter 8 which considers attendance, notes a rapid turn over in Sunday schools, suggesting again that working class use of Anglican Sunday schools was very much

"instrumental" to their needs.

The evidence of Birmingham's Anglican schools suggests that by mid century, the provision of schooling was still motivated by ideas of social and cultural moulding. As A.E. Dobbs has commented,

'It is probable that the main stimulus to philanthropy, all along, had been the hope of dealing with the sources of crime and destitution and civilizing a class whose ignorance was a menace to society.'(3)

(1) Frith, 'Education in Leeds', p.75.

(2) Tholfsen, Working Glass Radicalism, p.124.

(3) A.E. Dobbs, Education and Social Movements, 1700-1850, (1919)» P-152. - 297-

CHAPTER 7

TRENDS IN DISSENTING PROVISION 1829-1851

'Our obvious duty is to sov good seed in the morning, before the enemy cometh and soweth tares. 1 (l)

The provision of Dissenting schooling saw some notable changes and developments during this period, particularly the major entry into day schooling, and these bear certain parallels to the Anglican development already noted. The sections in the first part of this chapter examine these changes; sections one and tvo considering curriculum and method changes in Sunday schools and then in day schools, while the next three sections look in more general terms at systems of discipline, teachers, and additional "services" provided via schooling. The later parts of the chapter examine the reasons for these changes. In section six the possibility of expansion and change being part of a denominational battle for popularity is considered, while the seventh section questions how far the desire for a social moulding and control was a motive for Dissent in their moves to expand their schooling provision.

The growing demand for secular education, already noted in the Anglican context, also affected Dissenting provision. The importance of religion in education was a Dissenting priority. The stress placed on religious education as the basis for education was clearly seen in the development of Dissenting Sunday schools. The Cherry St. Wesleyan Sunday schools according to their

(1) CL. Mins. 21.7.43 -298- mlnutes were governed by

f the great principle of making all their educational endeavours subservient to religion; and of training up the Children for Membership in the Church of Christ. 1 (1)

When the Legge St. Independent Chapel Sunday and Day Schools vere to be opened a meeting vas held for discussion about education. The Birmingham Journal reported that 'a commendable zeal vas displayed and recommended by the speakers in favour of Bible instruction1 (2)N ' The need to leave secular education alone and concentrate on religion and morals vas often stated. The Rev. William Stokes, a Baptist minister, addressed a meeting of the Birmingham Sunday School Teachers 1 Union in 18^4 and noted that 'There has been a great extension of secular instruction1 as veil as a f great increase of nominal religion. 1 He also noted 'the extensive spread of general literature among...the industrious classes of society...' much of vhich being non or anti-religious had had a bad effect. It vas no longer so necessary for Sunday Schools to teach 'elemental instruction 1 , vhat vas important vas the need for Sunday school teachers to

'consider it as a fundamental principle that your institution is a seminary for the inculcation of youthful piety, and a nursery for the church.' (3)

A similar address, some nine years later, by the Rev. Isaac Nev noted that

'Much is being said in the present day on the importance of secular education, and ve vould not say a vord against it; it is good as far as it goes. But it is fearfully defective, it is incomplete.'

U) Cherry St. Mins. f 17.4.43. (2) B.J. 6.8.42. (3) Rev.W.Stokes, The Position Proper to Sunday Schools in the Present Day. An Address to the Birmingham Sunday School Teachers' Union, July Ath.1844. (Birmingham 1844), pp.8-15. U) Rev.Isaac Nev, An Appeal for the Jubilee of the Sunday School Union : addressed to the teachers of the Birmingham Sunday School Union. 31st. May 1853. (Birmingham 1853), p. 10. -299-

The minute book of Carrs Lane Sabbath Schools reveals this concern with the importance of religion. The annual meeting of teachers, friends and subscribers of the schools in 184-0 heard that there was no doubt that f the work of religious instruction was in a progressive state. 1 ' The report the following year stressed the need for teachers to make ! a very careful consideration of selected portions of Scripture, in which (they) should be (2) assisted by reading a good Commentary... ! - from this base they would be in a better position to conduct religious instruction. The limitation of the Carrs Lane curriculum was recorded by G.J.Holyoake who was a pupil from 1831 - 36.

!For five years I was a scholar in the Carr's Lane Sunday Schools, yet save Watt's hymns and reading in the Bible, I had learned nothing. There was a sand class for seven or eight boys, in which lessons in rudimentary writing were given. But beyond this, secular instruction in these schools did not go. 1 (3)

The formation of "First Day* Sunday schools by the Quakers, in the late 1840's, also showed the concern for religious emphasis in learning. The Quakers were prepared to allow within certain limits the admission of secular instruction, but it should always have if possible a religious bearing -'the prevailing tendency of our school instructions should be decidedly religious..'M This preparedness to accept elements of secular instruction within the framework of religious education was echoed by the minister of the Independent chapel of Livery St, Rev. J.Alsop; he was convinced of the need for a 'sound (5) education, based on Scriptural principles, but including general knowledge.'

(1) CL. Miiis.. 21.4.40 (2) Ibid.. 25.4.41 (3) Holyoake, Sixty Years. Vol.1, p.33. (4) Friends' First-Day School Association, Report of delegates...for the purpose of forming a Friends' First Day School Association,(Manuscript 1847) p.3 (5) CEC.18^3. f.195, no.509. -300-

The curriculum of the Sunday schools and the books used revealed the heavy emphasis on religious education. The Library connected to the Sunday school of Lady Huntingdon's connexion, for example, vas almost completely- comprised of religious, moral or expository books. The only non-religious set of books seemingly being ttBiographyw, but all these were biographies of moral or religious persons. * ' At Carr f s Lane Sabbath schools a new system of instruction vas introduced in 1843 which involved the establishment of regularly progressive scripture instruction moving from elementary books to the New Testament, as well as the introduction of a system of progressive catechising. New catechisms were ordered, though the committee noted that they still preferred Dr,Watt f s catechisms. Of the four divisions the school was to be divided into, only the 4-th class would not be fully religious, this was to (2) have more spelling and reading. The following year it was recorded in the minutes that there would be two divisions for pupils reading from the New Testament, one considering the historical books, the other the epistles. The emphasis throughout is placed on religious learning and teaching. The Bible Class was to learn ¥att f s and other catechisms, not for memory training but instruction. The testament reading was to be verse by verse, f each verse when read to be analysed by the Teacher who must prepare himself for that work by careful enquiry and previous consultation... 1 It was also noted in the minutes that the importance of Sunday school teaching must be made clear to the teachers, it was a commission from the Church and Pastor. (3)

The curriculum of the Wesleyan Sunday school, Cherry St, also had the heavy emphasis on Scriptural learning, though few details survive in the

(1) Rules and Catalogues of King Street Shapel Sunday School Library. (Birmingham 1841). (2) CL. Mins.. 12.12.43- (3) Ibid.. 7.11.44- -301- minutes. There was, however, a major changefothe curriculum - 1838 when it was resolved to stop the teaching of writing on Sundays, placing it instead on a week day evening with Arithmetic. This decision was not unanimous, as the minutes refer to the 'warmth1 of the debate, but it was written into the rules published in 184.0. The reason for this was to give children more time for religious instruction.

Unitarian Sunday schooling varied considerably, in form and content, from that of other Dissenters and the Anglicans. The development of secular education in their Sunday schools continued into the 1829-51 period. The use of Sunday for secular instruction meant that for a long time the Unitarians say no need for day or evening schools. As far as can be ascertained the Old Meeting Sunday Schools did not have such schools; and in evidence to the Children's Employment Commission, Francis Clark of the New Meeting noted 'No (2) day nor evening school is connected with this chapel 1 - though one was founded a few years later in 184-8. The two meetings 1 Sunday Schools show, however, a divergence of development in the years up to 1851, the reasons for which will be considered a little later in this chapter. First it is necessary to see how they developed.

The New Meeting Sunday schools continued to lay emphasis on the secular side of education. In 1833 they were using the Dublin reading books and in 1836 were ordering sets of cards with arithmetical problems of addition to division. (3)' Throughout the years in question frequent mentions are made of the progress in standards in writing, reading and arithmetic, and occasional

^W»^•••^^•^•^•^W"

(1) Cherry St. Minp. r 16.11.38 ; 1.4.39. (2) CEC.18Z.3. f.195, no.510. (3) NMSS Mins. r 5.4-33; 10.6.36. nb. Dublin readers were non-denominational readers produced by the Irish Commissioners. Cf. Goldstron, Social Content, P-52-90, -302- references to books used in the school show a mixture of secular, moral and religious. In 1847 it was suggested that though writing and arithmetic were up to standard there was a deficiency in reading ability. The remedy was felt to lie in the need to use reading books which would excite the interest of children, the Bible was not a suitable book. The same report also commented on the need to give more instruction in Geography and the use of maps. The secular curriculum was added to in 18^2 with the introduction (2) of singing classes, and in 1843 with a Girls Evening Sewing class.

There was during this period, however, a noticeable shift in emphasis in the relationship between religious and secular education in the New Meeting Sunday school. The balance over the years gradually swung towards increasing religious instruction, although the secular side still dominated in 1851.

In 1834 in a reorganization of the school following the secession from the school of 55 out of 59 teachers it was decided to introduce into the school a half hour service to start the day - this comprising a hymn, prayers and address. (3) In 1846 members of the congregation who were examining the boys' Sunday school noted fthere is too much time devoted by the Boys to the practise of Writing and Arithmetic. 1 ^' Two years later the curriculum was reorganised so that only reading was pursued in the morning, leaving writing and arithmetic for the afternoon. The Superintendent noted in 1850 that he felt the amount of ciphering and writing should be reduced. The general

(1) Ibid.. 29.7.50 (2) Ibid., 13.9.47; 7.9.42; 6.9.43. (3) Ibid.. 24.6.34. (4) Ibid.. 17.8.46. (5) Ibid.. 16.10.48. (6) Ibid.. 29.7=50. -303- direction of these moves culminated in the resolution passed by the Sunday school committee early in 1852.

'Resolved. That the direct religious instruction and the moral and religious culture of the Children be made a primary object in these Schools. That the entire morning of every Sunday be devoted to this object - That the secular instruction be altogether restricted to the afternoon School hours.' (l)

The Old Meeting Sunday schools did not follow the move towards religious instruction taken by the New Meeting, their schools continued a strong secular curriculum. The minutes available in this period of the schools (1829-4-5) show the continuation of reading, writing and arithmetic classes. In 1843 the Superintendent's report noted the nature of instruction in the various classes. The first was the reading room where reading and spelling were learnt. When proficient the pupils advanced to the writing room. In this room reading and spelling were still taught, but with the addition of writing and dictation. The third stage was entry to the Arithmetic room where reading, writing, dictation and Arithmetic were taught. The Superintendent noted about this room that it was there 'that the blessings of Education appear strongly to manifest themselves 1 with better attendance and attention shown. The final stage was admittance to the "Superior" class which taught reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geography. There was also an Adult class, whose members, once proficient in the 3Rf s, would move straight to the 'Superior 1 class. The Superior class was used as a training class for teachers for the (?\ schools. *' The previous year Arithmetic had been introduced to the Girls (1) curriculum for the first time. ' At the Easter Meeting of 1844 steps were taken emphasising the secular curriculum when it was resolved to raise an

(1) Ibid.. 16.2.52 (2) OMFS Mins.. 18.4.43 (3) Ibid.. Easter 1842. -304- entry standard so that all boys admitted 'should be required to read sufficiently well to commence learning to write.' '

The secular basis of the curriculum and the aim of the school to provide secular instruction was reflected in the contents of the School's lending library. As Table 48 shows the secular element was very strong, perhaps most clearly shown in the lack of a "religious 11 or "moral" classification, though there would probably have been such books contained within the given headings.

TABLE 48 (2) OLD MEETING SUNDAY SCHOOL LIBRARY ______Arts and Sciences 131 vols. Poems 73 vols. History and Biography 316 vols. Fiction and Periodicals 521 vols. Travel and Voyages 152 vols. Miscellaneous 257 vols.

The annual prizes awarded to scholars also reveal the presence of a considerable secular element. Table 49 shows a greater presence of religious or moral works than the library but even so the secular element is evident. The intention of providing instruction in reading for secular ends was confirmed in a comment as to the value of reading the library books, 'the family of the Mechanic refresh(ed) their drooping spirits after the labours of the day, with a never failing store of improvement. 1 * ' In noting the difficulties of the working class in obtaining education for the 'development and expansion of the faculties of the mind 1 , the schools' teacher-librarian noted that one of the first objects of education (considerably aided by the library) was 'to teach the Pupil to think, to weigh and consider.'

(1) Ibid.. 10.4-44 (2) Ibid.. 21.4.40 (3) Ibid. (4) Ibid.. 18.4.43 -305-

Such sentiments place the Old Meeting Sunday school well on its own in its attitude to working class schooling. Rather than providing a ready made set of precepts for the pupils to absorb, the concern behind curriculum planning vas far more of a democratic nature, encouraging the working man to make his own judgements. The librarian's report of 184-2 encapsulated this approach in these words:

!To form the taste is one of the most important features in the system of teaching - We do not mean to assert that reading alone will tend to make them wise and practicable men but we do assert that reading will make them reflecting men, it will awaken their thinking powers, it will store their minds with wisdom, and at the seme time mature their judgement. 1 (l)

TABLE 49 PRIZE BOOKS AWARDED TO OLD MEETING HJPIIS (2) History and Topography of Warwickshire. Moral Tales Devout Exercises of the Heart. Bibles Vicar of Wakefield Child Harold Natural History Testaments Selected Poems Geography Old Fieeting Hymn Books History of Rome Sketches of the Wars in Greece Religious Tracts Temperance Rhymes.

The form of education provided by the Old Meeting Sunday schools proved to be very popular, as figures in Chapter 2 showed, and as comments in the minutes suggested; as in 1842 when it was noted that there were too many pupils in the school for comfort, and admission had to be suspended. 'It grieves us to rcake such a request when Education is so much sought for in our (3\ Schools. 1 w' The decisions to provide secular education of a good standard

(1) Ibid.. 29.3.42 (2) Ibid.. 21.4.40 (3) Ibid.. 26.6.42 -306- and to accept pupils who could already read meant that the average age of pupils began to increase. The tendency for applications to come from pupils at Sunday schools where they were only taught reading grew, and the minutes noted the reason for their move was the desire to learn to write and gain the other benefits offered by the Old Meeting. In 1844- it was suggested that more attention should be paid to the older children and adults, and the Easter Meeting of 1845 suggested that the schools should become adult only. The younger children could gain the rudiments of education in any of the other local Sunday schools *where education is not carried on to the same liberal extent.'

It was not just the curriculum at the Old Meeting which proved attractive to working class children and adults, for the schools also offered other facilities relevant to a general education. The Superintendent noted in 1840 that wherever possible teachers should arrange for pupils to attend lectures or exhibitions of interest at the various 'adult 1 educational establishments of the town. He commented how the Sunday pupils had recently been to an (2) event at the Mechanics Institute for a third the normal price. Other minutes recorded visits to the Society of Arts and the Polytechnic Institution. There were also informal groups associated with the school, in particular an Elocution class and a Discussion class. The Discussion class met every Monday, its object being to diffuse useful knowledge through the discussion of subjects suggested by members. In 1845 the minutes recorded that club members were quite at liberty to introduce non-Sunday School friends to

(1) Ibid., 25.3.45. (2) Ibid.. 21.4.40 (3) Ibid., 28.S.42,- 29.11.40. U) Ibid.. 18.4.43 -307- the group, to take part in this 'opportunity for self-education.* The whole ethos of the Old Meeting Sunday Schools was one of concern and care for its pupils : as the Superintendent said in 184.0, they gave poor children (2) the instruction f so necessary for their welfare and guidance through life. 1

Most Dissenting denominations who felt the provision of some secular instruction was necessary, did so with weekday evening schools run lay their Sunday school organisations. Evening schools became a growing feature of Sunday School provision from the late 1820 f s as newspaper, minute books and other reports suggest. (3) The curriculum in these schools was virtually just the 3 l H's, with very occasional extras. Usually the schools met once a week for about two hours instruction. Carrs Lane did experiment with a five night a week evening school which reduced to three nights a little later.

II

The new feature of Dissenting education in this period was the entry of denominations into day school provision. The returns of the 1851 "Education Census", in Table 50, revealed that of all the children in public day schools supported by religious bodies, 39% were connected with Dissent. The figures also show that with the exception of the Catholics and the Independents, no group was concerned in 1851 with more than 333 children.

(1) Ibid., 25.3.45 (2) Ibid.. 21.4-40 (3) Wood 1838, Table 19, p.24. (4) Ibid. P notes to Table 19.

(5) CL. Mina.. 30.9.30; 1.1.34- -308-

Thus in relation to the Anglican efforts the individual involvement of any one dissenting denomination was quite small*

TABLE 50 (1) DAY SCHOOLS SUPPORTED BY RELIGIOUS BODIES:1851.

No. of Pupils in Schools Denomination Schools Male Female Total Independents : British 1 89 117 206 n : Others 2 290 209 499 Baptists : British H : Others 1 45 70 115 Unitarians 2 130 197 327 Wesleyans : British n : Others 4 203 130 333 New Church 1 119 121 240 Roman Catholics 4 424 577 1001 Jews 1 43 18 61 Undenominat ional J> 223 102 325 Non C of E Total 18 1566 1541 .2102 C of E Provision 19 2704 2113 4817

The Wesleyan Methodists were among the first dissenters to inaugurate day school provision in Birmingham after 1829* opening schools in Cherry St., for Infants in 1830 and one for older boys and girls in 1834. The school was built to cater for both East and West circuits of Birmingham but does not appear to have flourished. In 1846 the Wesleyan Methodist education committee noted that there was a large debt on the school and to this

'may be attributed the depressed tone and feeling which existed for some time in Birmingham and the vicinity with reference to day-schools. 1 (2)

Evidence suggests that by 1851 the Wesleyans had founded seven day schools,

(1) Mann 1851. Table P, p.clvii. (2) Wesleyan Ed.Ctte. Report 1846. Birmingham District. -309- of which four were still in existence. The manuscript records of the Birmingham and Shrewsbury District noted the closure of the Cherry St. schools in 1850 and of another Wesleyan day school of the Birmingham West Circuit in 1851, though it is not clear which this was. The curriculum of these schools seems to have been secularized to a certain extent; the report for Cherry St. school in 18^6 noted that

! The higher classes read with accuracy and intelligence, and are taught English grammar, geography, general and sacred history, and mental arithmetic. 1 (2)

The Independent chapel (Ebenezer) in Steelhouse Lane was another early provider of day school education. As earlier chapters have shown, this chapel had introduced elements of secular education early in the century in its evening schools, and it developed a strong secular curriculum in its day school formed in 1839* As well as instructing in the 3R's, the curriculum also provided

•mental arithmetic, English Grammar, history, elements of pneumatics, optics, astronomy, geometry, drawing, music, botany, natural history, electricity, galvanism and magnetism. !

Although this secular element was very strong, religion was not excluded from the school. As regards the general approach to education, Rule 2 of the school explained that 'the whole be founded upon the Word of God 1 . The curriculum of the Ebenezer school bore much resemblence to that of the New Jerusalem Chapel day school founded in 1833. This school 1 s curriculum in 1837 comprised the 3R's, English Grammar and geography, as well as occasional geometry, history, astronomy and other branches of Science. Again, the

Wesleyan Mins.. Birmingham and Shrewsbury. 1850-51. (2) Weslevan Ed. Cttee. Report 18A6. Birmingham District. -310- religious element was not ignored, for the 1837 Annual Report stressed the need for parents to hear their children read the scriptures.

The Carrs Lane Congregational chapel had been considering the formation of Infant and Day Schools for several years before their eventual foundation in 184,6. Unfortunately the Carrs Lane minute book for its school ceased in 1845 and its successor does not appear to have survived. Thus, although a few details of the preliminary steps towards the establishment of the day school have survived, there is little detail of the school in operation. The decision to establish day schools on the "British and Foreign" system was taken in July 184-3, and it seems that in the opening stages the school had close links with the "British" Society. In December 1844 a deputation from the committee went to London to see various day schools in operation as well as to find a suitable master, if possible. The deputation visited Borough Road Schools and made an agreement with Henry Dunn (Secretary of the "British and Foreign11 Society) by which he would train as a teacher any young man recommended by Carrs Lane as their choice for their school. (2) The annual report for 184.6 of the British and Foreign Schools Society noted that Carr's (3\ Lane day school had had a most satisfactory first years operation. ' In following the British system the Carr's Lane schools would most probably have used the books of the Society by Crossley and Dunn, which by the mid 184.0's had a distinct secular content.

Among other early providers of day school education, as was seen in Chapter 5, were the Catholics. The united school of St.Peters and St.Chads

(1) Baker, Ebenezer S.S. p.135. (2) CL. Mine.. 19.12.U- (3) BFAR 18A6. (4) Goldstrom, Social Content, pp.108-9. Oil- founded in 1823 taught the 3R*s and religion, the girls also being taught useful needlework. The 1829 Report of the schools noted that the girls had 'made great progress in those arts by which their future lives may be rendered more useful*:1 and it referred to the clothes made by the girls for (2) the use of the Catholic Benevolent Society. The report the next year suggested that the curriculum was still firmly based on the 3R's and religion when it commented that the children had advanced 'in those elementary studies to which alone your committee has wished to direct their attention. ! as well as advancing in the 'truths of religion 1 . (3) In 18^9 a local Catholic Poor School Committee was formed to oversee the development of Catholic education. This followed the granting of government aid to Catholics and was part of a general surge in Catholic provision. The first general meeting of this committee noted the 'importance of providing necessary instruction, religious and secular, for the poor... 1 and commented on the unsatisfactory nature of Catholic schools in Birmingham. Under this committee the provision of schooling increased as well as the quality. In 18^9 the schools were 'insufficiently provided with the necessary apparatus of books, maps, desks, galleries etc... 1 The committee noted that the situation was improving with the use of pupil-teachers, inspection by the government inspectors and aid from the Catholic Poor School Committee. The reports of the Committee of Council's Inspector confirmed this improvement. In 1850 he felt that instruction in the St.Chad's boys school was limited and conveyed with little skill though improved since 1849. The girls school was advancing rapidly and he commented that 'Time only is now wanting to render this an extremely perfect institution. 1 The emphasis within the curriculum would seem to

(1) Catholic Sunday and Day Schools 1 Minutes 1809-1852, 6.7.23. See Bibliography for full reference. Hereafter Cath.MinS.* (2) Cath. Mine.. 12.1.30. (3) Ibid.. 18.1.31 U) Ibid.. c.Sept.1851 (5) Mina.CCE. 18^8-50, Vol.11, p.683 -312- have been a balance of stress on religion and secular topics. St, Chad's boys used the methods of the Irish National Board, vhose books were non- denominational, and as Goldstrom has shown much used by English Catholics. The second general meeting of the Poor School Committee reflected this when it noted its appreciation of ! the importance of providing the means of (2) religious and sound secular instruction for the Catholic Poor of the town... 1

Birmingham's first dissenting day school, the Protestant Dissenting Charity School, continued through this period to provide a curriculum suited to training girls as domestic servants. The mistress of the school noted in 184.1 that 'the subjects taught are reading, writing, a little arithmetic, (3) sewing and housework. 1 The Unitarians did not make a major entry into day schooling, the schools that they did found in the 184.0's being connected with their poor missions rather than the chapels. In these Unitarian mission schools, which were under government inspection, the curriculum was secular, being based on the non-denominational "Irish" books, and the methods monitorial.

The earliest major provision of secular education, the Lancasterian schools in Severn Street and Ann Street (boys and girls respectively) continued, amalgamating in 1851 to form the Severn Street British School. During the period in question, for which records of these schools are extremely poor, it would seem the curriculum remained limited to the 3R's and religion. The 1830 report noted that examinations would be taken, being 'confined to reading,writing,arithmetic, and Scriptural Knowledge. 1

'(1) Ibid., 1851-2, Vol.11, p.6^7; Goldstrom, Social Content, p.118. (2) Cath. Mins.. c. mid 1852 (3) CEC ISA3. f.198 no.517 (4) Mins.CCE. 1850-1, Vol.11, p.578 (5) BFAR 1830. -313-

Apart from the Lancasterian schools there was one other undenominational day school, the Birmingham and Edgbaston Girls (industrial) School in Tenant Street. Little is known of this school although when inspected in 1850 it was reported to be a good monitorial school using "British" books, suggesting the use of the Secular books of Crossley and Dunn. To complete the index of provision it should be noted that there was a small Hebrew National School, as well as one Independent and one Baptist day school; these have not been examined in detail in this chapter.

The development of day schools attached to individual dissenting denominations was virtually a new phenomenon on the scale that took place in the 1830's-40f s, yet the form they took did not differ greatly from that of the Anglicans. Their methods and curriculum, as already outlined, follow a similar pattern to that of the Anglicans. The monitorial system was adopted by several schools, though in many cases it was a modified version where questioning by the teacher played an important part. Many of the minutes of dissenting schools refer to the need to increase the amount of teacher-pupil contact via questioning, and this did not just apply to the day schools as a criticism of monitorial methods. Sunday School teachers were often accused of not teaching but of merely addressing their children at great length; at Carrs Lane what was needed the visitors argued was 'Concise questions or short explanations. 1 and they urged that greater (2) efforts should be made to ensure that children comprehended what they read. In the late 184.0 f s the possibilities created by the appointment of pupil- teachers were taken up by both Catholics and Dissenters as has already been seen.

(1) Mins. CCE.. 1850-1, Vol.11, pp.589 and 611. (2) CL. Mins.. 25.12.^2 -3U-

III

It was suggested earlier that there may have been a softening in the nature of discipline during the 1830l s - 184.0's, with less severe corporal punishment and more ttreasoned!l punishment being used. The extent of severe corporal punishment in Dissenting schools is difficult to determine as there are few references to this in the various minute books. This may well suggest that Dissenting schools did not often use corporal punishment. This was the case in the Protestant Dissenting Charity School where it was reported that 'The birch and cane are not used; there are no such things in the house 1 - the mistress of the school maintaining children could be 'much better managed by kindness. 1 The Catholic day school at St.Chad's noted in 1835 that the children were kept in excellent order 'with little (2) correction.' The Cherry Street Wesleyan Sunday school rules noted 'The teachers...shall not administer any corporal punishment whatever... 1 (3)'

Some form of disciplining was used, however, to keep in check the children who, as minute books often reveal, were capable of being a considerable nuisance. In many minute books there are frequent references of the need for Sunday school teachers to be with the children as they attend the morning services because of their poor and noisy behaviour. The Old Meeting Sunday School Superintendent complained in 1841 of the noisy state of the boys' school and noted the habit of eating fruit in class, which, as well as being messy, was bad and should be stopped because of

(1) CEC. 18A3. f.198, no.517. (2) Cath.Mins.. 26th Annual Report, 1835. (3) Cherry St. Rules 1840, Rule 2VII -315-

•the temptation It gives to the boys of throwing apples at each other.' The Superintendent commented after this on the use of disciplinary measures adopted by the junior'teachers, namely hitting the children on the head with a book. This practice he felt 'tends more to facilitate the wear and tear of books than the progress of the pupils 1 , and he urged that gentler means (2) of discipline should be tried. The inference to be drawn from this is that if "gentler" punishments were urged then the disciplinary ethos was not one of flogging or beating. The one punishment which is mentioned most frequently is expulsion from the school. The Carrs Lane committee in noting the 'questionable character of some Meetings which had been held by the elder children of the school' as well as their behaviour in the streets after school, decreed that if this continued expulsion would be the result. Accordingly one boy a month later was brought before the committee guilty of the above offence. He promised to reform and was forgiven - not being expelled. Forgiveness was not automatic as the following month two boys were expelled/ 3^

This seemingly low level of corporal punishment in the dissenting day and Sunday schools, which was also seen to a certain extent in the Anglican parochial schools, contrasts with the "popular" view of the state of discipline in Victorian schools. Wood's report suggests that corporal punishment in Birmingham was mostly to be found in dame schools or common day schools. In dame schools Wood commented 'The cane or rod is generally a conspicuous object on entering the school, when, as is frequently the case,

(1) OMFS. Mine.. 31.10.£L (2) Ibid. (3) CL. Mins.. 26.^.42$ 29.5.42$ 12.6.42 Silver, Aspects of Neglect* p.63. -316- it is not in the hands of the mistress. 1 As regards common day schools Wood reported that !As in the dame schools, corporal punishments form almost (2) the whole of the moral training in these establishments. 1 The table below shows that charity, Sunday and evening schools in the provided sector, and superior schools from the private sector were far less committed to corporal punishment than the dame or common schools of the private sector. Why there should be this difference is an interesting question. It may well reflect the different attitudes to education and discipline held by parent and provider.

TABLE 51 TEE E3TEKT OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN B»HAM SCHOOLS.

Schools where: Dame Common Superior Charity Evening Corporal Punish^ is given 190 77 13 13 4 Corporal Pun.*" is seldom gvn 3 20_____2______6_____2 Total of Schools. 267 177 98_____26____36 * Presume c.p* not given.____7A 80____76______7____30 ^ Wood noted that it had to be understood that a contrary method was adopted in remaining schools.

The extent of evidence available for the varying Birmingham schools does not permit any definite conclusion to be drawn 6n this question. It may perhaps, though, suggest that middle class providers were trying to establish schools where discipline and behaviour was based on respectable and civilized lines, in contrast to the dame schools of the working class and the public schools of the aristocracy and gentry. These, with their

(1) Wood 1838. p.7. (2) Ibid., p.10 (3) Ibid.. Table 8. -317- more violent disciplinary methods and occasional riotous behaviour, were perhaps derivative of the old plebian culture and "wild" aristocratic culture which the new middle class were trying to make respectable.

An emphasis on respectable behaviour was certainly stressed in rules, regulations and minute book records of the various dissenting denominations, as they had been in the Anglican schools. The need to ensure punctuality and good attendance received considerable stress. The Carrs Lane Sunday schools resolved in 1841 to exclude from the schools anyone who was late 8 times out of 12 sessions on six consecutive Sabbaths, this it was hoped would encourage better attendance habits, ' The importance attached to visiting absentees also reflected the desire to ensure regular attendance habits. The Old Meeting schools reports often noted the valuable role the visitors took in ensuring regular attendance. The arrival of a visiting teacher to enquire into a child*s absence helped impress on parents the need (2) to send their children to the schools. The Ebenezer Sunday school inaugurated a prize scheme to encourage good attendance, giving books to those absent no more than 2 days in 6 months who were able to repeat their lessons - later certificates were given for 6 months regular attendance. (3)

The use of prizes and rewards as a means to encouraging good attendance, better behaviour and to developing a respectability continued into this period. The teachers 1 committee of the New Meeting schools in 1833 selected twenty-six of the most punctual children to receive prizes, and the following month presented a Bible as a reward to a girl leaving the schools after thirteen years attendance. In 1831 the schoolmaster at the Catholic day

(1) CL. Mine.. 15.6.41 (2) OMFS Mins.. 21.4.40. See also OMFS Mins. Easter 1842. (3) Baker, Ebenezer S.S. p. 104 (4) NMSS Mins.. 10.5.33; 7.6.33 -318-

school was empowered to 'give tickets as a reward for good behaviour in the School... 1 In 1850 the Catholic Poor School Committee provided money (2) for the schools to buy prizes for the pupils. Carrs Lane schools (3) regularly presented leaving boys with books as rewards. The Old ifeeting Sunday schools continued the practice of awarding prizes; and in the 184-0 annual easter meeting, it was noted how effective rewards could be:

•The prizes and Buns were certainly the stimulants which brought together so many anxious faces on a day when old and young are so generally engaged in passtime or what are usually termed holiday amusement. 1 (4)

One of the problems faced by the providers of schooling was the finding of good and effective teachers who could run the growing dissenting educational network. The Unitarian missionary in Birmingham, Rev. T.Bowring, reported in 1840 that the Sunday schools were growing rapidly, 'but teachers come in slowly. 1 and he noted the shortage of teachers. The New Meeting in the late 1830's and 184.0's continually noted the lack of teachers and in the late 184.0's it was felt desirable to reduce the number of children in the school because of the lack of teachers. ' The difficulty was not just in obtaining teachers, but also in ensuring their regular attendance and commitment to the schools. The Old Meeting minutes noted in 184-3 that in

(1) Cath. Mins.. 11.7.31 (2) Cath Mins.. 18.12.50 (3) CL. Mins.. 25.3.38; 26.7.40. (4) QMFS Mins.. 21.4.40 (5) Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission Society, First Annual Report 18AO. (Birmingham 1840), pp.10 and 13. (6) NMSS Mins.. 15.5.48. -319-

September more than 50$ of the teachers had been absent on one Sunday • a complaint re-echoed, if not at that exceptional level, among the other denominations. In 1841 the Carrs Lane minutes recorded that some Sunday school classes were without a teacher all afternoon and were thus not only (2) uninstructed but unemployed. During 1830 several teachers left the Old Meeting schools, the reasons being given in the minutes: 'Love of pleasure created in him a lukewarmness' - another was

•so allured by the gaiety of the world as to relinguish the philanthropic employment of a Sunday school for the trifling amusement of a country walk1 and a third left when he reached the age when young men often forget their Sunday school duties. (3)'

Nearly all of the Sunday school teachers were unpaid, though there were still some being paid in the 1840 f s. The Old Meeting girls* school had one paid teacher in 1843> all the classes in the New Meeting Girls* School had paid assistants, and there were a few others elsewhere as the 1838 report revealed. The day schools as far as evidence is available followed the practice of advertising for teachers. The Carrs Lane School advertised in the "Patriot", and "Midland Counties Herald" for a suitable day school teacher in 184-5. (5) When the Carrs Lane committee were discussing the possible formation of day schools they noted, as had the Anglicans, that liberal salaries would be needed if well qualified teachers were to be (6) obtained.

(1) OMFS Kins.. 24.9-43. An unusually high level,especially for the Old Meeting. (2) CL. Mins-. 25.4-41 (3) OMFS Mins.. 28.3.30; 29.8.30. U) Ibid.. Easter 1843; CEC 18A3 f.195 no.510:Wood 1838.Table 17, p.23 (5) CL.Mins.. 6.2.45 (6) Ibid. f 17.11.40 -320-

Many of the Sunday school teachers in the dissenting schools were products of their own institution. The usual pattern was for a Sunday school to have some form of ^Superior" class which pupils would eventually reach if they progressed satisfactorily. From this class, which was usually given a wider curriculum, future teachers would be chosen. The New Meeting formed a "normal11 class for teacher training in 1837, which met twice weekly for secular learning, and on Sunday for religious learning. A teacher was paid £12 per annum to look after this class. The Carrs Lane School in 1844 determined that a class of trainee teachers should be formed from the best scholars, this class was to be more than just a superior bible class, it was to learn about teaching methods. The minutes noted that

'Teaching is a difficult art especially to those unacquainted with its moral principles, it has to do with mind much rather than with mechanism.' (l)

The Old Meeting Schools also had a "Superior" class which trained teachers for their schools, and, from the 1843 Easter report which noted that whereas other Sunday schools had trouble getting enough teachers the Old Meeting did (2) not have that problem, it would seem it was a very successful arrangement. ' It was not always the case that Sunday school teachers came from school pupils, for both the New Meeting and Carrs Lane had members or sons of members of the congregation as teachers, these usually being of a higher (3) social standing than the pupils who became teachers.

(1) Ibid.. 7.11.44 (2) QMES Kins.. 18.4-43 (3) NMSS Mins.. 6.9.43; C.L.Mins. 17.11.44 -321-

T

The dissenting denominations throughout most of the first thirty years of the nineteenth century had been providing extra social services in the form of various Benefit Societies, for the aid and succour of their chapel and school members. This continued and developed during the 1830 f s and 1840' s. The Unitarian Brotherly Society which was the first of its kind continued its work and served both Old and New Meetings as well as the new formed Newhall Hill Unitarian Meeting. Carrs Lane resolved in 1844 that it was desirable to form a General Provident Society for the chapel to put into effect through the schools. Already in 1835 Carrs Ifine had established a sick club for children, it seems possible that the 1844 move was an (o\ extension of this. v ' The Catholic schools noted in 1835 that their Sick Society had started successfully, with payments of Id per week returning 2/6d per week on claim and £2 at death. (3) Along similar lines were the savings clubs which enabled amounts to be drawn on demand as at a bank. The Old Meeting Savings Club, as with the benefit society connected to the schools, encouraged care with money. The schools Superintendent in referring to the Savings Club, noted that it was

! an institution inducing habits of forethought and economy and it may be parsimony but parsimony cannot be a vice in those who are continually on the verge of want. 1 (4)

The 1843 Easter report noted that pupils through small weekly savings were enabled to buy items of clothing when previously they would have had to go without. '

(1) C.L.Mins.. 9.4-44 (2) Ibid. f 6.11.34 (3) Caths.Mins.. Annual Report 1835. (4) OMFS Mine.. 24.4-31 (5) Ibid.. Easter 1843. -322-

The schools also had societies or activities of a more educational nature connected to them. Almost all dissenting schools had libraries and several had Improvement Societies. Considerable value was placed on the use of library facilities. The Old Meeting library reports to the annual meetings already quoted show the importance attached to the availability and use of books by the working man - the librarian also warned that the selection committee must beware of "that rubbish and trash which unfortunately is so widely circulated in the present day." ' Carrs Lane also realized the value of libraries and in 1837 to provide a better library service united its three libraries (Sunday School, Vestry and Brotherly Society). The other form of "educational" society usually found within the schools was that of an Improvement Society, again usually intended for the teachers. As Chapter 5 showed the Old and New Meetings' Teachers 1 Societies performed this function providing chances for members to listen to lectures as well as to deliver talks themselves. The Ebenezer schools had a 'Mental Improvement Society* in the 18^0's similar to the 'Wesleyan Society for Promotion of Moral Culture and Discipline 1 . At this latter society papers were given once monthly on varying topics, the object being the mental improvement of the Sunday school teachers and members of the Wesleyan - Methodist connection. (2)'

Most Dissenting denominations were affected by the Evangelical tradition. This was partly seen in the importance laid on missions to the poor, in which schooling played an important part. A Carrs Lane hymn perhaps sums up the aim of mission schooling, !We seek, by grace divinely taught, To train the wild luxuriant thought, And lead the youthful heart to prize The joys that blossom in the skies. (3)

(1) Ibid.. Easter 18^2. (2) J.B.Melson, Address to laesleyan Society for the Promotion of Horal Culture and Discipline. (B^HanT 184.0)7"~ p. 11 (3) CL. Mine.. 27.3.42 -323-

Most Dissenting denominations ran missions, their numbers growing by the 1850's. It was felt mission work was valuable as it helped bring the poor and destitute into contact with the chapel and its attendant benefits. The Unitarian missionary reported the attendance of the poor meant that 'the great principle of human responsibility and the great duty of human improvement may be impressed on their minds. 1 ' The report continued by noting that but for the mission Sunday schools many of the pupils would have

'wasted the Sabbath in idle wanderings, or in contracting evil and debasing habits, thus laying the foundation of future destitution and misery. 1 (2)

This Unitarian mission in 1847 in a report to the New Meeting Sunday school commented that it regarded fthe Education of the people as the most important step towards promoting all social improvements. 1 (3)

VI

The pattern of dissenting educational provision developed as it did from the pressure of several forces, both national and local. It also happened with Dissent, as with the Anglicans, that the pressures and movements affecting the locality were similar to those involving national concern.

The Anglican "change of gearM noted in Chapter 6 presented a considerable threat to Dissent, as the aim of Anglican provision was to bring back the masses to the church. This applied equally to those who had

(1) B'Ham Unit. D.M, 1840 Report, p.10. (2) Ibid., p.11 (3) KMSS Mins.. />. 10.47 -324- strayed to dissent as it did to those vho were infidel or non-religious. Most denominations seem to have approached the educational provision question in terms of a battle for popularity, and they were frequently stressing the advantages of their schools to the working class potential clientele. The Unitarian schools were the odd ones out, as the Superintendent of the Old Meeting schools commented in 1830. In his annual report he said that he looked back

'with Honest pride on the rising popularity of these Schools, gained (not by the pomp and parade of useless processions but) by the slow workings of Merit... 1 (1)

Certainly many denominations saw themselves in direct competition with the Anglicans, not just in gaining new scholars,but also in holding those already in the schools. As shown in Chapter 6, Anglican clergymen were worried by the threat of Dissenting education spreading and urged action to combat this. A report to a Dissenting meeting suggested that this action was often very furious. A superintendent of an Independent Sunday school related how an Anglican clergyman had visited a poor woman to find out where her children were sent for instruction}

'The reply was, to Carr's Lane school. 'Then', affirmed the fierce bigot, 'your child will be damned1 and Mr. James will be damned! and all who attend his instructions will be damnedl',

(2) the woman withdrew her children from Carrs Lane terrified by these menaces. Whether or not this story is apocryphal is uncertain, however it does suggest the importance attached to the need to have children in the "right" denomination's schools. That this story might well have a factual basis is

(1) OMFS Mins.. 25-4-30 (2) El., 6.8.42. -325-

suggested by the report of a similar occurrence at the New feeting Sunday schools. The Superintendent reported how the King Edward's Gem Street school master had put pressure on boys at that school to leave the New Meeting Sunday school. In speaking to one boy this master had 'desired him to go no more, but to apply either to St.Marys' or St.Peters' Schools... 1 The boy's mother, who reported this to the New Meeting Superintendent had added that

'It was not only what the master said, but that he said it in the hearing of all the other boys" - and that when the poor lad was observed approaching the School, he was assailed with shouts of "Here comes a young Unitarian."'

The Superintendent also noted two other cases of similar persecution.

Impetus to dissenting provision also came from the resurgence of the Catholic Church following its emancipation in 1829 and later on the re- establishment of the hierarchy. In 184.2 the Legge Street Independents urged the necessity of religious education 'in opposition to Romish and (2) semi-popery opinions. 1 The Baptist Rev. Stokes in addressing Sunday school teachers stressed the dangers posed to Protestantism by Popery;

'....aware of their strength, the propagators of these errors seize the youthful population - purchase them with a bribe, or allure them by foolish baubles; and fascinating their senses by gewgaw scenes fit only for infancy, they surround their victims with the most deadly prejudices...'

The spread of Sunday school teaching would 'expose their sophistry and (3) prevent its increase'. In 1853 Rev.New argued that Sunday schools were a force against the spread of 'Popery subtle, in tensely proselytising, hesitating at no means to achieve its end 1 ; this could be defeated by the

(1) NMSS Mins.. 16.11.38 (2) BJ., 6.8.42

(3) Stokes, Position Proper, p. -326-

Dissenting Sunday schools. At about the same time the Catholics were building their own Sunday schools in the area of London Prentice Street (2) vhere they noted great efforts were made to lead Catholic children astray.

It was not just the inter-denominational battle for the allegiance of children which spurred Dissenting education, but also the need to keep children away from the clutches of infidelity and irreligion. Rev.Stokes referred to the development of educational Institutes and schools of a non- religious character, this led to

'youth, always ambitious and frequently intellectual, allured by the show of learning and the literary parade which the institutions of the day have presented...(avowing) with pride a surrender to infidelity.' (3)

Similarly Rev. New noted that infidelity was 'laying seige to the working classes, it is seeking to beguile them by its plausible arguments.' ' Again, the solution was the extension of Dissenting education provision. This was noted by Cherry Street Methodists during the growing Chartist agitation. Sunday schools they argued would shield youth from Infidelity, whose

'agents are disseminating by means of placards, attractive publications, and cheap lectures, their polluting and soul-destroying principles; rendering their miserable victims a terror to their families and a bane to Society. 1 (5)

Most of the Dissenting denominations seem to have proselytized as a means of increasing their schools; as with the Carrs Lane missionary who was asked by the schools committee to urge parents he visited to send their

(1) New, Appeal, p.10 (2) Cath.Mins.. 22.1.50 (3) Stokes, Position Proper, pp.10-11. U) New, Appeal, pp.10-11.

Cherry Street. Mins.. 12.4.41 -327- children to the Carrs Lane school. The Unitarians seem to be the only group not doing this. The tradition of freedom of worship which they held during the earlier periods continued into the 1830*8, 40's and 50's. The Unitarian Domestic Missionary noted that he encouraged families to attend religious worship, but a denomination of their choice - f I...never interfere (2) with the faith of those on whom I call.' This freedom in the Unitarian schools was attested to by G.J.Holyoake who was the teacher of the New Meeting "normal" class in 184.0. He noted that 'I retained all the time my Trinitarian belief with which they never interfered. 1 (3}' This freedom was not applied by other Dissenters to the Unitarians, as the Old Meeting minutes have recorded. In 1830 a teacher resigned because he felt his beliefs conflicted with Unitarianism, the committee noted their feeling that the persuasion of others had caused his move. In 1840 the teachers* meeting noted the value of visiting as they were able to correct false reports concerning Unitarians - f many untrue reports are circulated by the supporters of other Institutions. 1

The drive to increase levels of schooling provision was activated on a national scale for the Anglicans through the development of the National Society and Diocesan Education Committees, and for Dissent by the British and Foreign Schools Society and denominational organisations. These groups helped finance education either via their own efforts or by applying for and utilizing government money which became available after the 1833 grant and the 1839 formation of the Committee of Council. The development of the national "scene" has been covered frequently in histories of education and thus needs only brief comment here.

(1) CL. Mine.. 24.10.44 (2) B'Ham Unit. D.M., 18AO Report, p.15.

(3) Holyoake, 60 years, pp.47-85 NM3S Mins., 11.3.40

(4) OMFS Kins.. 28.3.30; 21.4.40. -328-

The availability of government money for education caused much worry in Dissenting circles as it was felt that the established Anglican church would obtain an unfair proportion, and also that it established a principle of government interference with which they did not agree. A Birmingham Congregationalist minister wrote that schemes for national education were beyond the province of government; powers of government did not extend over the cultivation of the mind, he argued, and, if they did, they would probably abuse it! During the years after the first Parliamentary grant several denominations formed their own education committees to forward their own educational schemes as well as trying to obtain government money. The Wesleyans formed a committee in 1838, the Congregationalists in 1843 and Catholics with government aid formed their Poor School Committee in 1847. These establishments soon worked an effect on the locality as Figure 1 showed, where denominational increase of schools follows soon after the establishment of the national committees.

The educational clauses of the 1843 Factory Bill provoked a more intense reaction from Dissent. In Birmingham the Old Meeting pupils and teachers petitioned Parliament against this, they felt it was unfringing the rights of labour, interfering witii the duties of religion and was injurious to the labouring classes of the country. (2)' The Congregationalists were also worried by government actions and in 1847 withdrew their support from the British and Foreign Schools Society which was receiving government money,*•*' their Carrs lane schools thus ceasing to receive support.

(1) Baker, Ebenezer SS. pp.$5-7. (2) CMFS Mins.. 18.4.43 (3) Goldstrom, Social Content, p. 112 -329-

VII

Evangelical missionary fervour and inter-denominational competition vere motivating factors for most Dissenting denominations in providing schooling, as they had been with the Anglicans, Is it also possible to see, as a part of the Dissenting impulse for provision, any resemblence to the Anglican social motivations'! As Chapter 3 has shown, most Dissenting providers were either from the middle class or the lower middle class - particularly the Unitarians, Quakers, and in later years Wesleyan Methodists and Congregationalists. Only the Baptists seem to have been close to being a working class church. If Dissenting provision was guided by middle class committees, was its provision of education part of the class struggle?

The middle class providers of Dissenting education, as with many of their Anglican counterparts, still feared the consequences of the possible social upheavel which might arise if working class education and behaviour was not controlled in some manner. The Wesleyan improvement society in Birmingham was told that there was a great danger of the spread of infidelity to the lower classes, 'Many factories are...nurseries of sedition and heresy... 1 The choice in manufacturing districts was either educate children in Sunday schools or not at all; and it must be in Wesleyan Sunday schools otherwise they will learn infidelity. It was only by controlling education that the rising generation would be protected from sedition, heresy and their attendent dangers. If the schools did not provide the right sort of education, children were likely to 'read pages which pollute and books which teach the way to hell...' This warning

(1) Ram, Five Dissenting Communities, pp.69-71. -330- concluded by noting

! our young people are acquiring information from various quarters...it is more than time that some discriminating influence were brought to bear upon their studies. 1 (l)

The middle class desire to exercise control over working class behaviour and to mould the 'rising generation 1 so that social upheaval would be avoided, was reflected in the continuation of references to the importance of habits of orderliness, obedience, etcetera, as well as to the stress on punctuality and discipline refered to earlier. The New Jerusalem Church commented in its school report of 1837 that

! The importance of education - of giving an early bias and direction to the mind...(is)... one great means of stemming those torrents of infidelity and insubordination, of intolerance and superstition which at present inundate the world. 1

It was very important the report noted to inculcate habits of morality to (2) make the children useful and good members of society. The Catholic schools in 1830 noted the progress of children f in those Studies which are (3) intended to qualify them for their humble station in society.' The Carrs Lane schools in 1844 noted that in education 'Self Denial and Self Devotedness are essential to Success. 1

The need for the working class to be aware of its place in society and for it to accept that and avoid any attempts to overturn the system, was suggested by the reaction of the Carrs Lane committee to a circular from some Baptist Sunday school teachers which criticized the local Sunday

(1) Melson, Moral Culture, p. vi, vii, and 32, (2) New Jerusalem Reports. 1837. (3) Catbs. Mins.. 12.1.30

(4) CL. Mins.. 7.11.44- -331-

School Union's arrangements for the 1831 Sunday School Jubilee. The dispute was over an objection concerning the wearing of Jubilee medals. The Baptist teachers noted that this decision

'deprives the teachers of their .lust right to please themselves in the disposal of medals, purchased by themselves, as Jubilee presents to the children in their classes. 1 (l)

The level of teacher control here, or perceived teacher control reflects that of the Unitarians, and suggests that possibly the Baptist schools were also working class organised and run. The Carrs lane committee's reaction to this was to deplore the fact that

"any young persons engaged in the sacred employments of teaching the children of the labouring classes the principles of a religion of humility and love, should send forth a protest so unfounded in its assumptions, so disrespectful in its tone to the Ministers and Committee of the Union, so inflamatory and dissociating in its tendency; and so subversive of all those regulations on which alone the stability of social order can be secured. 1 (2)

In an address to the Sunday School Union, Rev. New noted how the implanting of truths and principles of virtue in the working class through Sunday schools had formed in them 'habits of industry, economy, carefulness and righteousness... 1 The justification of this was seen in the results, for as Rev. New noted, there was no need to wonder

•that this land of ours should be a kind of spiritual Goshen in the earth, and that it should occupy a dignified supremecy among the nations. 1 (3)

(1) Ibid.. 28.8.31. Printed circular from Baptist teachers inserted in CL. Mins. (2) CL. Mins.. 5.9-31 (3) New, Appeal, p.8 -332-

The frequent references to infidelity and the sedition which threatened the rising working class generation reflected the fear of the middle classes that self-education by the working class might prove a powerful force, and there was much correlation between middle class providing effort (Anglican and Dissent) and the upsurges of working class political and educational movements. As Richard Johnson has suggested, an attack by philanthropic providers grew in the 1830's - 40 f s against the working class parent as part of an attempt to get the influence of their schools replacing some parental functions. This criticism of the working class home was illustrated, for example, in the New Meeting minutes where it was noted that 'the Boys home education does not tend to produce habits of order or (2) thoughtfulness.' The period saw quite a heavy propoganda barrage waged against working class self-education, and in many cases against the working class itself. The Unitarian missionary, Rev.Bowring in his address to the Domestic Mission complained of this attack on working people

! The very phrases by which they have been designated - nthe common people. 11 - "the lower orders" - have savoured of anything rather than the Christian principle. 1 (3)

In the organizational structure of Sunday schools power varied to a greater or less degree between committee and teachers. In the Unitarian schools, and possibly the Baptist schools, it seems that teacher control was fairly well established. In schools like Carrs Lane or Cherry Street Methodists the committee was supreme, even though there may have been teacher representatives on it. In these schools control was vested in the

(1) Johnson, 'Notes on Schooling 1 , p.51 (2) NMSS. KLns- r 2Q.7-5Q. (3) B'Ham Unit. DM., 18AO Report, pp.18-19. -333- hierarchy of the chapel, usually men of the middle class, Carrs Lane school committee were responsible for choosing and appointing teachers, admitting children and appointing Visitors. The visitors had to check the school to make sure that the schooling given matched the committee's instructions in 'letter and spirit.? * ' By the 184-0 f s, as described later, control of the New Meeting Sunday Schools was in the hands of the congregation committee and not the teachers. Francis Clark noted how teachers made the school (2) regulations 'subject to the approval of the committee of subscribers. 1 *

It is almost axiomatic that the committee control in day schools was much tighter, and teacher power considerably less. The control of Catholic schools by priest and committee was very firm. The day school teacher was sacked by the committee in 1832, as he had

'been in the habit of frequenting the Theatre and has thereby disqualified himself as a Teacher in a Catholic School where Christian Morality must always be considered a paramount imposition.' (3)

When the Catholic schools were organised in 18^,9 under the Birmingham Catholic Poor School Committee it was decreed that

'while the internal discipline of each School was left to the care of the Priest in whose district it was, the entire controul of the School Funds was submitted to the Management of the Committee.'

The perception of education provision as being of a class nature was perhaps well defined in the day school development of the Wesleyans and the

(1) CL. Mins.. 7.11.U. (2) CEC 18A3. f.195 no. 510. (3) Cath. Kins.. 16.7.32. U) Ibid.. Sept. 1851. -334-

Congregationalists. Goldstrom has suggested that the VIesleyans' provision of day school education was not for the poor but was for their own children, they being distinctly middle class by the 1840's. He also suggests that the Congregationalists were similarly providing in day schools for their own children, not wishing them to associate with the very poor. In support of his view Goldstrom quoted part of the 1846 Congregational Board of Education Report, which stated that

'the Congregationalists never arrogated to themselves the power nor the purpose of educating all the neglected children in our cities, towns and villages. 1 (l)

It is difficult to determine whether this holds true for the Wesleyans in Birmingham, but the Carrs Lane Congregationalists may have intended their schools for their children as a minute book entry suggests. The sub committee considering the formation of day schools noted that they were sure

'there are many members of the Carrs Lane Church and Congregation who would gladly avail themselves of the opportunity which Schools...would furnish to give their children the benefit of a useful education who may not be able to provide it for them in more expensive establishments. 1 (2)

It would seem that much of the impetus behind many Dissenting educational moves, was the impetus of a struggle for class domination - the desire of the growing bourgeoisie to ensure the development of a social order of which they approved and in which they felt safe. This desire was perhaps seen in the struggle for control of the New Meeting Sunday schools. Chapters 4 and 5 showed the New Meeting to be radical in its curriculum

(1) Goldstrom, Social Content, pp.113-116. (2) CL.Mins., 17.11.40. See also Cherry Street Mins.. 24.3-45 for a suggestion that the same approach applied to Birmingham Wesleyans. -335- and manner of organisation with teachers controlling most aspects of the school's life. In 1834 the Vestry Committee noted that since 1827 when the teachers had taken over the election of Superintendent, there had not been frequent contact between the committee and the te&chers. The committee felt it had not been able

'to exercise that control over the internal management of the School, which they deem to be important in itself. 1 (l)

Two months later the committee took exception to a teacher and asked for his resignation. An appendix in the minutes noted that he had resigned recently from the Council of the Political Union because of rumours of immoral conduct. This the teacher, John Pyer, strenuously denied. (2) The teachers asked Dyer to remain and wrote to the committee noting their grief and surprise at 'the intolerant communication 1 they had received, and denying the right of the committee to dictate to them on matters concerning the Internal management of the schools. The committee decided that their responsibility to the subscribers meant that they had that right. (3)' The teachers a fortnight later wrote a detailed letter to the committee out lining their work and functions and noting, as a guide to their value, the number of ex-pupils in respectable situations. The letter continued, 'And though the Teachers generally are placed in the lower walks of life., (they felt they were effecient in)...bringing about the moral regeneration of the community...* A month later as no compromise was arranged the teachers announced their intention to resign en bloc in two months time. Accordingly 55 out of 59 teachers left two months later and as the attendance

(1) NMSS Mins.. 10.1.34 (2) Ibid.. 25.3.34 (3) Ibid., 9.4.34 (4) Ibid.. 21.4.34 -336- figures shov the number of boys in the schools dropped from 533 in July to 266 in August.

This secession meant a major re-organisation for the New Meeting including & new set of regulations. These new regulations placed the New Meeting Sunday schools firmly under the congregation committee control. The committee was in future to appoint Teachers and Superintendents as well as determining regulations, and the election of officers to the Teacher's Society had to be approved by the committee. Throughout the remaining years of the period in question the committee kept a tight hold over the schools. In 1839 the teachers noted the declining state of the schools and asked if more teachers could be put on the main committee as they were in a better position to appreciate the needs of the schools. This was refused. This seizure of control of the schools by the committee was followed by a gradual but definite shift of emphasis in curriculum and approach as was outlined earlier in this chapter. With control being removed from the working class teachers the stress on secular education weakened and the schools ceased to have the attraction they had formerly possessed, as declining numbers partly bear witness.

It was not just the middle classes who wished to see the working class become respectable and exhibit "better" behaviour; for various reasons the many elements of/working class wanted to see changes and improvements in the modes of behaviour of societyj working class radicalism was trying to offer a working class culture which would benefit the working class. The espousal of "temperance" and "respectability" by both middle class and working class shows this to be so. Brian Harrison has written that 'The teetotal movement appealed strongly to the working-class desire for self-dependence, social mobility, and respectability... 1 (2)

(1) Ibid.. 10.5.39 (2) Harrison, ! Religion and Recreation 1 , p.106. -337- and this reflected itself in the educational world. Tea parties and taking tea at annual school meetings became a noticeable feature in Birmingham schools in the 1830's, most denominations noting such events. Cannon Street Baptists in 1845 sold in their school leaflets, pledge books and made appeals on behalf of the Temperance movement. The Birmingham Journal noted how in a talk on education at a Congregationalist School meeting 'the principles of faith,hope,charity and temperance, were (2) simultaneously lauded and illustrated. 1 In 1841 Joseph Sturge invited Sunday school teachers to attend a temperance meeting in the town hall, amongst those accepting were teachers from the Old Meeting, perhaps the most radical of all schools in Birmingham at the time.

A similar stress is found in the denominations as regards cleanliness, good clothes and a neat appearance. In the 1830's at Cannon Street Baptist schools the superintendents Mvisited n one teacher after he had 'transgressed in appearing on the Sabbath day in his working clothes...' (3) The New Meeting prior to its split noted how respectable an appearance the pupils made with their own and their clothing's cleanliness, 'remarkable considering the occupations of many of the Boys during the weekdays.' The Unitarian missionary noted that the clean and decent appearance of the children at Sunday school was very impressive. The same sort of comments were paid to the question of good behaviour. The Old Meeting Teachers' Society noted a case where a teacher had fought publicly with a

(1) Hale, Cannon St. SS.. p.9 (2) BJ., 6.8.42 (3) Hale, Cannon St. S3., p.7 (4) NMSS Mins.. 24-6.34 (5) B'Ham Unit.DM., 18AO Report, p.15 -338- former pupil,

'the shame and disgrace attendant upon such conduct has prevented him since appearing among us and he considers himself as having left the schools altogether. 1 (l)

Here vas a case where the old,rough, plebian culture was being disowned by the growing culture of working class radicalism. One further example will suffice to illustrate the similarity of aim which was held by middle class and working class in their differing ultimate objects for education. This was in the development in the curriculum of singing and elocution, already mentioned earlier in this chapter. In 184-2 the new Meeting resolved to start a singing class as it was felt that 'cultivation of a taste for l^Usic among the lower classes must tend to raise them in moral character.' (2)' The (3) Ebenezer school founded a Singing Society in 1641• The stress on elocution is found in several of the schools. The New feeting schools noted that

•boys are in the habit of sitting whilst they read which induces a lounging and idleness of posture and an indistinctness of enunciation... 1 (4)

The Old Meeting schools held a special "Elocution Class" under the tutorship of the Rev. Hugh Button. (5) It seems possible that elocution, like singing, was seen as a civilizing influence and was thus made use of by both classes wishing to see improvement in the working class.

Ultimately it would seem that the force behind the Dissenting

(1) OMFS Mins.. 25.7.30 (2) NMSS Mins.. 7.9-42 (3) Baker, Ebenezer SS. p.106 (4) NMSS Mins.. 29.4-34 (5) OMFS Mins.. 18.4-43 -339- educational development was the consciousness of the need to control and mould working class culture, either from the middle class view of ordering the form of society to their way of thinking, or from the radical working class view of the importance of providing a suitable culture for the working class in general. This was perhaps best illustrated in the Birmingham context in the contrast between the Old Meeting schools - radical curriculum and working class teacher control - and the other Dissenting schools - less liberal and far more middle-class committee controlled.

Chapters 4 and 5 have already shown the degree of control held by the Old Meeting teachers and there was no change in this during the years up to 1851. The monthly meetings continued at which the Superintendent berated those teachers who were lax and reported on other matters affecting the schools. The teachers were predominately ex-pupils, a petition to the House of Commons in 1844 was signed by 100 teachers 'all of whom with few exceptions have been educated in the schools as pupils... 1 (2) The annual report of 1845 noted that the classes were conducted 'by teachers of their own sphere of life. 1 (3) The schools prospered, as Chapter 2 showed, under the working class direction of the Teachers and Superintendents, who, according to the minutes, were the official managers of the school.

Much of the success of the schools must have come because the schools understood what the working class clientele wanted, and the best way in which to provide it. An understanding of the problems of working class

(1) With the exception of the Baptists. (2) OMFS I-ans.. 28.4.44 (3) IMd., 25.3.45 U) Ibid.. 26.1.45 -340- learning was revealed in entries in the minutes. In 1829 the superintendent suggested that teachers use the school library out of school hours and give all their class time to the children,

•if we consider that this is the only Education that a Majority of the Boys receive we must be convinced of the Necessity of devoting as much time as we can to their instruction.' (l)

The Old Meeting schools as well as providing a wide curriculum also put forward the improving views of working class radicalism as already mentioned. The Visitor's report for 18£1 noted that education comprised more than the 3R's, there must also be attention paid to 'habits of economy, regularity and order. 1 The report noted that this was because 'Most of the pupils pass six days in workshops subject to the influence (2) of bad and disorderly characters... ! Criticism was levelled at parents for often not helping but indulging their children. This criticism was a straight forward comment, however, and was not of the kind of criticism which came from other sources which blamed parents 1 laziness, idleness or carelessness for the children's faults, (3) the suggestion being that it was more from the parents' fondness for the children that they were indulged.

The role of the Unitarian Old Meeting itself was purely financial in this period, there only being one occasion when there seemed to be any doubt as to the full control of the schools by the teachers. In 1841 the teachers complained to the Vestry Committee that the three teachers elected to represent the teachers on the Sunday school committee were

(1) Ibid.. 30.8.29 (2) Ibid., 13.4.41 • nb. Old Meeting Sunday School visitors were chosen from teachers. (3) Cf. Johnson, 'Notes on Schooling 1 , p.51 -341- having to be approved by the Subscribers to the school at their Annual General Meeting

! this we consider objectionable and a mark of a want of confidence which ought not to exist, for by such proceeding the three persons become the representatives of such meeting and not the representatives of the Teachers. 1

A reply was received from the Vestry Committee stating there was no law to this effect, and they considered the three teachers equal to the other members without their being 'subjected to the approval of a General Meeting. 1 ^

The teachers in the Old Meeting committed themselves to a considerable amount of hard work in their labours to educate the working class, and an awareness of their own difficulties showed through in some of their reports. In 184-0 when talking about the amount of visiting performed, the Superintendents noted how well they had done (ie the teacher/visitors). This was especially so when it was remembered that the teachers belonged to

'that portion of Society commonly, and often ignominious 2y, designated the Working Class, that their ill requited labour generally commenced on the Monday morning - to end only on the Saturday night, their fatigue, anxiety and toil producing a scanty subsistence poorly commensurate with the great wealth their toil produces to others, many of them having wives families and other domestic comforts to provide for... 1 (2)

The consciousness of class and the disadvantages of the working class comes over in the report just quoted very clearly. There is little doubt that the teachers of the Old Meeting schools saw the question of educational

(1) OMFS Mins.. 29.8.41 (2) Ibid.. -342- development as a question of class manipulation and control.

! The Education of this Country seems to have been dealt out in such patches as just to enable the people to work very, very hard for the bare necessities of life to the utter neglect of their moral and intellectual nature - The great object of education seems to have been misunderstood or if understood we have just grounds to suppose it has been wilfully, and we may say, carefully overlooked - or else why has not the growing necessity of education been met in a fair and open manner?....It is because the selfish prosperity of the privileged few should not be shared or pried into by the neglected many - To maintain this disgraceful state of things many and foolish have been the objection raised against a more comprehensive Education of the Working Classes. 1 (l)

These minutes were written in the early 184.0 f s during the growth of Chartism in Birmingham, and it is worth emphasizing their radical nature. The teachers obviously identified closely with the conditions of working class life, and their language is full of radical rhetoric; 'Knowledge is power 1 , f education as a right 1 , 'selfish prosperity of the privileged few 1 , as well as references to early labour theory of value, 'great wealth their toil produces ' .

The awareness of the Old Meeting teachers of the social manipulation and cultural control exercised by the bourgeoisie was very evident. Also very evident was their view that the 'rights' of the working man were no different to that of any other, and their conviction that through their teaching they would help the working class to realize its potential. The

(1) Ibid.. Easter -343-

Old Meeting teachers knew that

'the rising generation do not ask for Education as a favour but they demand it as a right - ... they know too that 'Knowledge is power 1 ... (not despotic power, but)...that power which stamps true dignity upon the man...that power which will confer upon him the full possession of his physical and moral and intellectual rights. That we are tending towards this is a pleasing, a gratifying, an encouraging thought... 1 (l) -3U-

CHAfTER 8

THE PROBLEM OF ATTENDANCE.

•It is difficult, hovever, to produce great results in a locality which offers inducements to children to quit the school at such an early age. 1 (1)

The statistical survey of Chapter 2 revealed that a considerable proportion of the working class child population was not receiving any form of provided or private education. It has been suggested in preceeding chapters that those who did use provided education did not do so for any great length of time or with any great regularity. The bourgeois providers throughout the years 1781-1851 put a considerable investment of time and money into the expansion of provided education, and there is little doubt that the low percentage of the working class child population in their schools, the lack of regular attendance, and the short duration of that attendance constituted a major problem for them. Consequently, as the chapters on trends in provision showed, there was great stress laid on the (2) need for good and regular attendance.

The first section of this Chapter considers the levels of attendance and duration of stay which were so worrying to the providers. The considerable efforts at providing schooling and the stress placed on attendance did bring schooling to a considerable number of children, as Chapter 2 showed, and the second section poses the question as to which parts of society took up these places. Were the providers 1 aims being

(1) Mins. CCE. 1850-51, Vol.11, p.684 (2) Cf.Pamela Silver and Harold Silver, The Education of the Poor ; The history of a National School 182A-197A. (1974). P.38 -345- realised with a working class clientele filling the schools, or were other elements of society taking advantage of the cheap schooling offered? Finally, the third section looks at the variety of reasons, both actual and perceived, which had an effect on attendance patterns.

The bourgeois perception of an attendance problem was based on their view of the lack of success in getting working class children regularly attending the provided schools. How accurate was their view? Perhaps the best way to approach this question is through an analysis and consideration of the patterns revealed by the statistics.

The general trend suggested by the figures in Chapter 2 was of a low level of working class child attendance. Tables 8 and 9 showed that by 1851 only 32$ of the working child population was attending Sunday school, and 18$ at provided day schools. Table 16 showed that a similar percentage were receiving private day schooling in 1851, but this still left a very large number not attending any school. It is very difficult to make a reliable estimation of the total of those not in school due to the lack of detailed figures; Wood suggested 51.5$ and calculations from Mann suggest about 5($ non attendance. These figures of around and above 5($ non-attendance among working class children are frequently confirmed in odd references and also in correspondence to the National Society. Table 52 illustrates this for one part of Birmingham.

(1) Wood 1838. p.l; Mgnn 1851. Table T pp.cxciv-cxcv; Table 8 and 9 Chapter 2. The calculation from Mann is a rough estimate based on Mann's figures and the local compilation. -346-

TABLE 52 SCHOOLING IN FIVE STREETS IN ST.STEPHEN'S PARISH : C.18A8 Name of Total of At day or At no Street Children Sunday School School Lover Brearley Street 187 57 130 Cliveland Street 191 110 81 Brevery and Little Staniforth Street 125 56 69 Blevs Street 131 63 68 Hard ins Street 154 62 92 TOTAL 788 348 440

Although percentages of Sunday school attendance are lov, it has nevertheless been suggested that because of the high enrollment rate, nearly (2) every vorking class child must have attended one. Certainly an ever changing body of pupils vould mean many more vould have acquaintance vith schooling than the figures might suggest; an argument also applicable to day schooling. The crucial factor in determining the effect of this on the pupils, is the length of time that children stayed in the schools.

The overwhelming viev of the evidence relating to children's length of stay in schools is, that vith the exception of the Charity-boarding schools (i.e. Blue Coat and Protestant Dissenting) vhere children stayed for anything up to 5 years, (3)' the majority of day schooling for vorking class pupils vas of a short duration. This situation does not seem to have altered throughout the period for vhich information survives. In 1815 the Lancasterian School noted an average stay of not more than 2 years, in 1838 it vas dovn to either 10 months or 1 year 4 months, Wood's figures being a little unclear. '

(1) NSLF. St.Stephens, c.1848 (2) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, pp.xi and 61. (3) Wood 1838. un-numbered table, p. 12; CEC 1843. f.196. no. 517. (4) A§. 18.12.15; Wood 1838. p. 12, in the table on this page Wood (or the printer!) appear to have transposed the Lancasterian figures vith those of the National School, of Wood's Table 10. -347-

The average length of stay shown in Wood's report, including Charity- boarders, was only one year one month and three weeks. This was reflected in the National School (Pinfold St) where it was noted that many girls only stayed 2 to 3 months, and very few more than a year. (2)' In the newly established Ebenezer day school it was noted that the average time in the school was about 9 weeks. (3)

Although details of average time spent in school are few, supporting evidence for the view of it being of short duration is found in the early age at which children left school; those leaving aged 9 or 10 would have had little chance of getting a long spell in school, especially as many schools did not take children until they were seven. Both Anglicans and Dissenters noted the early age of leavers. At St.Bartholomew's National School the average age of pupils was 10, and they were leaving the school as early as 8 years old. (5) This short time span was also apparent in the King Edward's Elementary Schools, as Table 53 shows.

TABLE £3 PUPIL AGE AT ENTRY AND LENGTH OF t&\ STAY AT KING EEWARD'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ; 18AO King Edward's Average age Average length Elementary School of entry_____of. stay_, __ Edward Street Boys 9.25 yrs. lyr. lOmths. Edward Street Girls 9.64 ? Gem Street Boys 9.03 lyr. 2mths. Gem Street Girls 9.83 lyr. 4mths. Iieriden Street Boys 8.96______2yr. 9mths.

(1) Wood 1838. un-numbered table, p.12 (2) CEC 18A3. f.197, no.516 (3) Baker, Ebenezer SS.. p. 135. (4) CEC 18A3. f.195, no.509; f.194, no.507; Hins CCE.. 1850, Vol.2, p.684. (5) CEC 18A3. f.191, no.504 (6) KES Archives; Admission registers for 184,0 for Gem St.Boys' and Girls' schools, Edward St. Boys' and Girls' and Meriden St. Boys' school. -348-

Shorb duration of stay in school seems to have been more a day school than a Sunday school phenomenon. Although details of Sunday school spans of attendance among pupils are few, it seems they did stay longer than children in the day schools. Much of the evidence referring to length of stay is in the recognition of pupils' long service, either on their leaving, or on their becoming teachers, as in the New Meeting presentation to a girl leaving after 13 years. ' Although there were obviously those who only stayed a short time, it seems Sunday schooling kept pupils longer on average. Another variable to consider in assessing the schooling of working class children is the rate of average attendance. The conclusions drawn here must be of a tentative nature due to the scarcity of a wide spread of evidence. The majority of figures available of average attendance are from the 1820 's onwards, and they reveal an attendance rate of between 60-80$ of registration numbers. There is little noticeable difference between Anglicans or Dissenters, or between day and Sunday schooling, though possibly Sunday rates were a little lower. Table 54 shows a selection of Sunday school average attendance^ rates; these were chosen as reliable examples of average attendance over a period, and examples from an attested single survey. They (2) show a marked consistency with other figures.

TABLE 54 (3) SOME SUNDAY SCHOOL AVERAGE. ATTENDANCE RATES. Sunday School Dates Covered % Attendance Carrs Lane 1832-1844 66. Old Meeting 1838-1844 An Dissenting Sunday Schools 1838 73$ All Anglican Sunday Schools . 1838 ______73.3%

(1) NMSS Mins.. 7.6.33; see also: OMFS Mins.« teachers' leaving biographies; Cherry St.. Mine.. 10.8.38. 16.8.38. (2) Mann's figures show 67.2$ average attendance in Birmingham, and calculations from Birmingham Sunday School Union figures 1848-51 give an average of about 65S&/though because of some missing figures this is a slight underestimation: Mann 1851. Table T, p.cxcv; BSSU Quarterly Records.!BA8-51 (3) CL.Mins.. Annual reports 1832-44; OMFS.. figures compiled from monthly returns; Wood 1838.. Table 11, p.21. -349-

Levels of attendance in day schools were remarkably similar. Table 55 shows the attendance levels at National Schools in 1847-8. The figures in this table bear a close resemblance to available Dissenting day school figures, most of which fall within 5% either side of 15% J in 1849 St. Chad's Catholic school had an attendance percentage of 74«5$> that of St. Peter's Catholic school a rate of 79$$ the Birmingham and Edgbaston Girls 1 British school had 752 attendance; and overall, in 1851 Mann's figures revealed an average attendance on census day of 74$.

TABLE 55 (2) NATIONAL SCHOOL PERCENTAGE ATTENDANCE RATES : 1847-8.

School Boys Girls Infants Combined St. Mary's 76$ 702 892 78.52 St. Stephen's 85 66 87.5 79.5 St. George's 81 - - 81 Bp. Ryder 's 87 75 - 81 St. Thomas's 85 70 67 74 St. Matthew's 82 74 73 76.5 St. Paul's 83 — - 83 St. Philip's 80 71 83 78 St . Bartholomew ' s 61 70 — 65.5 St. Martin's 56 65 — 60.5 All Saints' 64 69 - 66.5 St. Peter's _ 61 _ 61 TOTAL 76.5 69 79.5 c74-5

These various figures when considered jointly show that the providing class's view of a problem in getting good attendance was certainly justified} were they also justified in thinking that they were reaching the working class in the attendance they were getting?

(1) Mins.CCE. 1848-50, Vol.1 pp.527 ff., 1847-48,Vol.II, p.245; Mann 1851 Table T, p.cxciv. (2) Mins.CCE. 1847-8, Vol.1, pp.146 ff. -350-

II

Whereabouts in the social scale did the clientele of the provided schools come from? The available evidence suggests that the presence of middle class children in the provided netvork of schools was minimal. Wood's report noted many middle class children attending the HSuperiorM private (2) schools, and it has been presumed that the pattern of middle class education in Birmingham was an amalgam of children receiving a boarding school or home education if they were not attending a local private school.

The one exception to this would seem to be the Free Grammar School, which, though a foundation for the education of the poor, was constantly attacked throughout the period for being a stronghold of privilege and discrimination. Certainly many places in the Free Grammar School were held by children of wealthy members of the local bourgeois elite, including several sons of Governors, as the records of admission and scholarship (3) awards attest. J.R.Wood noted that the Free Grammar School was mainly for the middle class and tradesmen, and as late as 1S66 it was stated that

'a considerable number of the poorer working classes of Birmingham...consider they have but very little share in the benefits of the Free Grammar School of Birmingham... 1 (5)

The Free Grammar School should not be seen, however, as totally middle

(1) See Appendix B, and Wood.1838. (2) Wood. 1838. p.11 (3) K.E.S.Archives, Free Grammar School Admission Registers. U) Slanev 1838. p.122 q.1311-12. (5) Reports and Minutes of Evidence. Schools Inquiry Commission.(1867-8). Vol. V, Part II, p.1002. q.18,110. -351- class in its clientele* The admission lists to the school show that although most children came from the families of the wealthy middle classes there were also several whose parents were from skilled artisan trades - gun makers, jewellers, tailors, carpenters etcetera, as well as a few from other working class occupations, butcher, fruitseller and inn-keeper as random examples.

In considering the attendance of working class children in the provided schools, it is of considerable interest and importance, where possible, to distinguish between the elements comprising the working class, to see whether both artisans 1 and labourers' children attended the schools, or if there was a difference between them. Considerable difficulty is met with here as information on the social composition of pupils often goes no further than that the children were of the labouring or manufacturing poor. One method for ascertaining the social class of children is through a consideration of parental occupation. The determination of social class from the description of parental occupation is difficult as Beryl Madoc-Jones has suggested, and there are few surviving school registers which can provide this sort of information. However, though it is difficult to be exact over the social classification of pupils, it is possible to gather evidence from a variety of sources - minutes, correspondence etc. - which will enable a rough estimation to be made and one which will have validity.

The correspondence from Anglican clergy to the National Society revealed the very poor conditions from which they drew their pupils. The description of their catcfcraent areas frequently noted how poor and unprovided for they were, though it should be remembered that they were often applying for grants in the letters in which these descriptions were put, and that it was

(1) Madoc-Jones, 'Patterns of Attendance', p.56 -352- perhaps in their interests to portray a gloomier picture than the actual truth. Nevertheless, the more detailed and in some cases verifiable descriptions of the living conditions of the prospective clientele reveal the social class areas to be usually those of the very poorest. The central parts of the town were 'crowded with courts, forming the dwellings of the poorest and most degraded part of our population... 1; and similarly St. Stephens parish population was

'almost exclusively of the poorest and most destitute Class....the Streets and Courts swarming with Children dirty, neglected and untaught. 1 (2)

In St. Bartholomew's in 1833, the rector noted that the congregation was very ppor, 'the wealthiest of them being in general composed of second rate shop-keepers. 1 (3) Non-Anglican provided schools reveal the same social source for their pupils. The Catholic school started in 1809 was for the U) 'poor and destitute offspring of the lower class of our fellow townsmen...' and those opened 184.8-49 were for the 'poorest of poor Catholics. 1 Similar references were made by Unitarians, Baptists and other Dissenting denominations in describing the social origins of those they were educating.(6)

The evidence available of social class distribution in schools in Birmingham suggests the possibility that the National and non-Anglican day schools, perhaps with the exceptions of the Wesleyans and Congregationalists,

(1) NSIjF, St.Matthew's, c.18^8. (2) NSLF, St.Stephen's 28.9.U; 31.7.U. (3) NSLF. St.Bartholomew's February 1833. U) Cath. Mins.. 7.1*12. (5) Ibid.. January 1850. (6) Cherry St. Mins.. 20.4.40; See Chapters 4 to 7. -353- were catering more for the lower working class than they were for the artisan - tradesman element of the working class. This viewpoint is possibly strengthened by the fact that most of the very poor could not afford very much for education suggesting that it was they who mostly filled the provided National and non-Anglican "cheap" schools while the slightly better off among the artisan class utilized the private sector and the King Edward's network. (N.B. The labouring poor would also be found utilizing the cheap private sector).

On the occasions when it has been possible to identify children in National Schools as being above the level of the labouring poor, it has usually been when that particular school was achieving a superiority of reputation over other schools. The Rev.H.W.Bellairs inspected Birmingham schools during 1847-4B, and commenting on the sucess of St.Paul's National School, noted that

'Children of a superior grade than those to be found in our second-rate National Schools are flocking in; and..soon..there is little doubt but that a large proportion of scholars will belong to ratepayers and others who are able to pay a considerable sum for the education of their children... 1 ((l)

The Anglican school attached to Christchurch was another to which, "superior grade" artisans took their children in the early 1830's. This church had a higher class catchment area at this time reaching up Broad Street towards Islington and fashionable Edgbaston. The clergyman at Christchurch noted in a letter to the National Society that 'Some of the mechanics have (2) voluntarily brought me a Sovereign, several have come with their Shillings.' a level of donation placing them above the labouring poor.

(1) Mins.CCE. 18^7-8, Vol.1, pp.117-121 (2) NSLF, Christchurch 10.9.34- -354-

The frequent comparisons made between the National Schools and the King Edward's Elementary schools have provided firm evidence for the view that the National schools were mostly educating the poorer elements of the working class. These comparisons noted that the King Edwards Elementary schools were mostly used by the artisan-tradesmen class, and had a higher social class composition than the National Schools. Rev.B.Noel commented on these elementary schools 1 superiority over other schools in Birmingham only two years after their foundation. The clergymen at Bishop Ryder f s wrote to the National Society and informed them that the neighbouring King Edward elementary school gave 'an education superior to that of most National Schools 1 , and a few days later he wrote 'It is not the most needy (2) that are educated at King Edward's Schools.' The minutes of the Governors reveal that although the elementary schools founded in the late 1830's were meant for the poor, they were not occupied by the very poor. The Headmaster's report for 1850 noted that though the elementary schools were

'freely accessible to the very poorest Children, the Education given in them is such as to attract others of a very respectable Class, who I believe constitute in fact a large majority in most of these schools.' (3)

This is not to suggest that the elementary schools were becoming a middle class preserve, and this was confirmed by a statement of the headmaster Rev.J.P.Lee; he noted that of the bojrs admitted to the newly expanded English School department of the main grammar school 'Many of these are from habits, station in life and prospects, much more suited to one of the (4) Elementary Schools than to the English School'. Rev. Feild noted that

(1) Mins.CCE. 184.0-1, p. 176. (2) NSLF, Bishop Ryder's 2.3.40; 23.3.40. (3) GOR. 28.6.50. (4) GOR. 6.7.42. -355- the King Edvard's elementary schools gave an instruction superior to that of the parochial schools and that they were chiefly occupied by children of small tradesmen and mechanics.

This suggestion that most children at the King Edward's Elementary schools were from the small tradesmen-artisan class is supported by the evidence of parental occupation at these schools. Table 56 is based on the description of parental occupation in the admission registers of the schools. The years 184-0 and 1851 have been selected to give the widest time span so that if changes occurred in the class nature of parental occupation they would perhaps show over the eleven year gap.

TABLE 56 (2) PARENTAL OCCUPATIONS OF THOSE ADMITTED TO K.E.: NTARY SCHOGIS.

1SAO 1851 Occupation Number Occupation Number Carpenter : Cabinet Maker : ) Jewellery trade 23 Wood Turner ) 25 Clerks 20 Unknown 22 Victualler : grocer : 16 Inn-keeper : publican . 19 provision dealer. Porter : Labourer : Warehous eman 16 Brassfounders-casters U Brass, Iron casters and founders 15 Carpenters : cabinet 13 Clerk. 13 maker Jewellery trade. 12 Paint er : glazier : Painter : glazier : plumber : plumber : bricklayer 9 bricklayers 12•A. A* Tailor: milliner 8 Tailor : dressmaker :milliner . 12 Inn-ke eper : publican 8 Victualler : grocer . 11 Widow 7 Widow {Independent Woman. 10 Porter : labourer 7 Maltster : Brewer 10 Bookbinder : print er 6 Plating trade 10 Butcher 6 Tool Maker 8 Commercial Traveller 6 Police: Excise 8 Domestic servant: 6 Glass Maker 7 wait er : c oac hman Servant 8 Groom: Coachman 7 Gun trade 6 Others 58 Others 57 Total No. occupations. c.9A Total No. occupations c.8A

(1) Feild 1841 (2) KES Archives,Elementary Schools 1 Admission Registers for Ib^O and 1851. -356-

Although, as stated earlier, it is not possible to make accurate social classifications from job descriptions, it is certainly possible to draw much useful and relevant information from them. Perhaps the most noticeable fact is the wide range of parental occupation. In 1841 there were 84, more if the diversities within grouped trades (ie. jewellery) are counted, and in 1851, 94. Many of the occupations listed are ones which can be described as artisan - tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, or the various skilled trades in iron and metal working - though it is of course not possible to say with certainty that each parent in an artisan trade was in fact an artisan. The number of occupations which would seem to be those of the unskilled or labouring section of the working class is smaller, including labourers, warehousemen, packers, gardeners and porters - though here again lack of detailed differentiation of occupation precludes positive social class identification. The general suggestion of the combined list though can carry some weight in identification5 the list does suggest a higher percentage of skilled, better paid parental occupations that would be consistent with the elementary schools' growing reputation as being schools for the better off working class.

Among the more noticeable trends shown by the chart is the increase in representation of clerks, jewellers and gunmakers. All three of these groups were increasing in importance during these years and improving their social status. In 186$ a report noted that, with a few exceptions ! jewellers are the best paid of the Birmingham artisans 1 , and that several branches of gunmaking 'require very high skill, and the renumeration is in proportion.1' This report noted barrel boring and setting, stocking and rifling as being among the most skilled jobs, and it was from these jobs that most of the

(1) S.Timmins, (Ed.), The resources.products and industrial history of Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District. (1866) pp.394 and 453. -357- gun trade entries in Table 56 came from. The increase in clerks reflected the growing use of (and need for) literate employees which the expansion of commercial business involved. Several of the clerks1 jobs were involved with the newly introduced railways and Post Office; the others, where identifiable, being clerks for solicitors, accountants or merchants. The other noticeable trend was the sharp drop in inn-keeper/publicans. If, as seems likely, the elementary schools were gradually flimprovingM the class of pupil, then in an age of growing respectability, and one which was beginning to stress temperance, then it is possible that the social acceptability of publicans' children began to fall, and that they no longer gained admittance to the schools.

The view being advanced here of the difference of social intake between the King Edward's Elementary Schools and the National Schools was echoed in evidence given to the Schools Inquiry Commission by Rev.Gover. In contrasting 1866 with the late 18^0f s he commented that

fmy impression...is, that the upper classes of the working class are not only taking up these elementary schools, but that they are absorbing places in our national schools,that the social position of the parents of children in our national schools now is better than it was 15 or 20 years ago. 1 (l)

It is, of course, very difficult to determine exactly which section of the working class was attending a particular school when references are only made to "children of the labouring poor" attending. There would seem to be a case for presuming that, by the 1830's and 184.0's, the National and non-Anglican day schools were perhaps mostly catering for the lower sections of the working class in their localities. A frequent complaint of National

(1) Schools Inquiry Commission. (1867-8) Vol.V, p.1005, q.18,123. -358-

Schools masters and controlling clergy was that the King Edwards elementary schools adversely affected them taking away the better pupils from their area. An H.M.I., Rev. Bellairs noted in 18^8 that he had heard this complaint, but doubted it. He argued that the King Edward's Elementary Schools only took 700 pupils, and that artisans would prefer to pay 2d or 3d per week to a National School than find Is. or 2s. in a single sum for books at the Elementary schools. He also noted that the National Schools of St.Paul's and St.Mark's were situated either side of a King Edwards School and neither suffered. The Rev.Bellairs' view can be faulted. He was wrong in supposing that money for books had to be paid in one sum at the Elementary Schools, as early as 18^1 the Governors had abandoned this, allowing instead that 'payments be made by such Instalments as the Bailiff (2) and Head Master shall think expedient. 1 This system would then have been little different to the weekly sums paid in the National Schools. The argument that the King Edwards schools did not "cream off" the better working class pupils is also weak in that the Rev.Bellairs cites two districts which were not of the very poorest, St.Paul's being in fact the centre of the jewellerytrade and a respectable area. The St.Paul's school he mentioned was in fact the one quoted by him later in his report as having 'children of a superior grade than those to be found in our second- (3) rate National Schools' and was thus one of the schools attracting the "upper" working class, as were the Elementary schools. Certainly as he argued, only c.700 pupils attended the King Edwards Elementary Schools, but allowing that most of these were upper working class and adding to them the

(1) Mine. CCE. 1847-8, Vol.1, p.118. (2) GOR. 26.6.a (3) Mins. CCE. 18^7-8, Vol.1, p.119. -359- number of artisan children who vere at private schools, this must have represented quite a "creaming off11 of the upper levels of working class children.

The social class of intake of the National and non-Anglican day schools is also revealed perhaps in the prevalence of clothing clubs found in the schools, and the relative frequency of 'inadequate shoes or clothing 1 as a reason for non-attendance. In the more prosperous years of the 184.0 f s it would seem likely that the better off working class would not need such aids but that it would appeal more to the poorer elements of the working class*

The network of provided schools by the late 18^0's as the figures have shown were only covering a minority of the working class child population - some of these, the Destitute11 poor were seen as being below the social level catered for in the National and other day schools, and to deal with this, the very poorest sector of the community, ragged and mission schools were founded. The Unitarians opened a mission school in the mid 184X)f s which extended Education amongst the indigent poor, a class for whom at present no public provision has been made. 1, and in the late 184.0's with the expanding population there was little doubt that the number of indigent poor was growing. The Anglican "Free Industrial School" was founded with a similar purpose in mind, and as Chapter 6 showed it too dealt with some of the very poorest and destitute of working class children. The existence of these schools does not invalidate the argument that the National and non-Anglican day schools were dealing with the poorest elements of the working class, more it tends to illustrate the very large number of poor working class children who were receiving no education.

(1) NMSS Mins. 8.10.46 -360-

As far then as it can be ascertained it would seem that the above distinctions also applied to the Lancasterian school and the day schools of some of the other dissenting groups. Whether the contention of J.M. Goldstrom that Wesleyans and Congregationalists in their day schooling were not catering for the very poor but aimed more for the upper working class and lower middle class membership of their own congregations, is valid for Birmingham is not possible to determine at present. Evidence of Wesleyan day school admissions is lacking, and the Carrs Lane records finish at the commencement of day schooling in 1845. Perhaps the general assumption that may be made of social class use of the provided schools ds, that the artisan and better-class tradesmen went to the more prestigious schools (King Edwards and a few specific National or non-anglican day schools) while the majority of the labouring poor, if attending a provided school went to the National or denominational schools, or in the central and most decrepit areas to the ragged or mission schools.

The Sunday schooling provided during this period, 1781-1851, does not seem to have had such a split between sections of the working class, but would appear to have catered for a wide spread of all levels of the working class. Detailed evidence of the social origins of children in Sunday schools is very sparse, few Sunday schools seemingly having kept any registers or lists. The only list of pupils which has been found from the late eighteenth century which also gives parental occupation is from the Old Meeting Unitarian School. This list, shown in Table 57 was of the first 30 children admitted to the Sunday schools, and reveals a wide cross section of the working class from labourer to the skilled artisan gun barrel maker and to a lapidiary. The only other list from which parental

(1) The King Edward's records reveal many Wesleyans being educated in their schools. -361- occupation might be extracted is that of Carrs lane Sunday schools which frequently noted the addresses of children admitted. When these are checked against relevent trade directories, however, only a very small percentage are traceable, being mostly artisan trades - gun polisher, tailor, shoemaker, etc. The conclusion to be drawn here is again that probably Carrs Lane had a wide spread of the working class, mostly from the labouring elements but also some artisans.

TABLE 57. OLD MEETING SUNDAY SCKOOIS : (i) PARENTAL OCCUPATIONS OF ORIGINAL RJPHS. Occupation___No. Occupation No.______Occupation_____No. Widow 6 Glazier 2 Spectacle frame maker 1 Jewellary trade 3 Collier 2 Lamplighter 1 Unknown 3 Brass founder 2 Waterman 1 Gun trade 2 Labourer 2 Horn button maker 1 Shoemaker 2 i&ison 1 Cheape filer 1

Much of the contemporary evidence of the Sunday schools in letters, reports, minutes and etcetera, showed that most teachers were ex-pupils and from the working class - as has been shown in earlier chapters. The minutes of the Old Meeting Teachers' Society provide much evidence of the working class status of teachers - typical of the entries regarding the teachers was the apology of William Bromige for his absence, this was because of (2) 'his having to wait upon his master. 1 Several of the Old Meeting teachers are known to have been apprentices to tradesmen or to have been occupied in manufactories and workshops during the week. Similarly, the pupils were employed in manufacture during the week, the Old Meeting teachers again

(1) QHSS Mins.. 1.5.87; 27.5.87. (2) OMFS. Hipfl- r 29.3.40. -362- noting 'The employment of the greater part of the Pupils in Shops and (1) Manufactories and in other situations. 1 The New Meeting Sunday schools similarly revealed their working class membership when they noted the respectable appearance and cleanliness of the pupils and their clothing, this was felt to be f remarkable considering the occupations of many of the (2) Boys during the weekdays. 1 It is difficult to be more precise about the social levels within the working class of the Sunday school pupils. Evidence like that above, which suggests that some were of an artisan level and most were employed, when coupled with the report that school visitors had to visit, when checking on absentees from school, the poorest of persons (3) where 'starvation and misery are at the lowest extremity1 would argue a comprehensive span of the working class being involved in the Sunday schools,

III

The attendance at the schools in the provided sector was undoubtedly of the working class, which was what the providers wanted. The levels of attendance shown earlier, however, were certainly not what the providers were aiming for. Why did the providers stress the importance of good attendance? What were the reasons for low attendance?

In considering why good attendance was important to the providers it is necessary to consider their perception of the nature of the working class. In general the providers viewed the working class as an awkward element of society which refused to fit into middle class social conceptions,

(1) Ibid.. Easter 1843. (2) NMSS Mins.. 24.6.34 (3) OMFS Mins.. Easter 1843. -363- preferring its own older style of work rhythms and recreation, there was a strong bourgeois assumption that the imperfections of working class character were largely responsible for the ills and faults of society. Consequently, bourgeois providers felt that the schooling of working class children should not be left in the hands of the working class. The parental role should be taken up by the provided schools which would, it was argued, give the working class child the necessary training and morals that it was seemingly unable to get from its parents. From this viewpoint developed an ('3) attack on working class parents and working class educational ventures. The attack on working class private schooling was based on their failure to put forward the morals and respectability which the bourgeoisie espoused. Wood's statistical report n6ted that few dame school teachers felt it part of their duty to teach morals; 'one, in particular, insisted, with much warmth, that to teach morals was the duty of the parents, not hers. 1 This failure of working class schools to teach morals, the perceived apathy and indifference of parents to 'religious instruction..(of which)..nothing else deserves the name of Education' and a growing radical element in society which was producing substitutes for providing schooling, all provided aspects of concern for the providing bourgeoisie. The solution to these worries it was felt lay in provided schooling which could supply the necessary moral and social teaching which it was felt parental apathy and indifference failed to produce. If schooling was to perform this function

(.1) Johnson, 'Notes on Schooling', p.49. (2) Phillip McCann, 'Popular education,socialization and social control * Spitalfields 1812-18241 , in McCann (Ed.), Papular Education, p.19. (3) Richard Johnson, 'Educational policy and social control in early Victorian England 1 , Past and Present. No.49, (1970), pp.110-116. (4) Wood 1838. p.7. (5) NSLF. St.George's, 1832 Report. -364- then it needed to be effective, and the pre-requisite for effective education vas the regular and constant attendance of all working class children.

These bourgeois approaches to the working class and their perception of the problem of attendance were intimately connected with their whole social perception and philosophy. That there was a problem of attendance in the provided schools there is little doubt; but, the reasons for this were not necessarily those reported by the bourgeois observers whose opinions come most readily to hand. The working class also had its own views on schooling, and was subject to many pressures which were not always appreciated or perceived tjy the providers. The Unitarian Missionary, Rev. Bowring commented,

'We complain, that do what we will, say what we will, build chapels and schoolhouses for their accomodation as we may, we cannot induce the poor to come. I fear we do not sufficiently consider the difficulties in their path. (1)

Having seen the providers 1 perception of the working class and its parental role, an analysis of the reasons for non-attendance can be made. The early age at which children were employed was the immediate cause of the short school life outlined earlier. In 1815 the Anglican Sunday school committee observed that

!most of the children of the poor are sent constantly to work for six days in the week as soon as they are capable of earning the smallest pittance. 1 (2;

(1) Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission Society, Eighth Annual Report. (Birmingham 18^7), Address of Rev. T.Bowring. (2) AG. 4.12.1$. -365-

This early employment of children was constantly referred to throughout the period. Considerable evidence of this practice was given to the 18^3 Employment Commission and it is frequently mentioned in the National Schools 1 correspondence files. In 184.8 the Unitarian missionary, Rev.Bowring, noted that the great obstacle to the education of poor children was 'the very early age at which they are taken from school and sent into the workshop. 1

Day school attendance was also subject to the vagaries of trade; marked depressions or booms could both adversely affect attendance. (3) Entering employment was not necessarily the end of schooling, for employment could easily cease and young workers possibly return again to school, though this was not always so. The Lancasterian school reported one aspect of this -

'owing to the increased demand for labour, the older boys have been taken away from school and placed in manufactories and other situations of work...'(5)

f - the Rev. Nunns commented on the reverse, 'When trade is bad the (6) attendance at the school falls off. 1 It is not surprising to find complaints concerning the difficulty of accomplishing efficiency because of (7) the 'constant fluctuation of scholars. 1

The effect of work and trade on attendance mainly applied to day

(1) CEC 18A3. £191-fl99. (2) Birmingham Unit. D.M., Annual Report. 18A7. p.9. (3) Frith, 'Education in Leeds', p.76. U) Madoc-Jones, 'Patterns of Attendance 1 , p.52; Nancy Ball,'Elementary Scfeool Attendance and Voluntary Effort before 1870f , History of Education. Vol.2, (1973), No.l, pp.21-2. (5) AG« 16.12.22 (6) CEC 18A3. f.192, no.504. (7) Mins.CCE. 1850-1, Vol.11, p.112. (St. Peter's). -366- schooling, though it did in some ways affect Sunday school attendance. In 1801 the Anglican Sunday school committee commented that children were offering as an excuse for lateness or absence that ! their Masters and Mistresses employ them on the Sunday Morning.' Work on Sundays also affected the teachers; the Old Meeting minutes referred to teachers who (2) vere absent through having to attend to business on Sundays.

The length of the working day obviously prevented attendance at day school, and it also made attendance at evening or Sunday School less likely, for reasons of physical exhaustion and the need or desire for recreation of some sort. Theodore Price noted in evidence to the Select Committee of 1816 that children in Birmingham worked a 10J- hour day. (3) Rev.G.S.Bull stated his view of the hardship that working children had to face in attending Sunday schools on the day of rest, after

f the wearisome and Industrious occupation of the six days, too often protracted beyond., (their) ..proper physical capacity...'(4.)

The custom of employers paying wages to workers late on Saturday night also had its effect on Sunday school attendance. This meant that several necessary aspects of life had then to be carried out on Sunday morning, these often involving the children. This was noted by both Anglicans (5) and Dissenters. The New Meeting Sunday schools in urging the need for a better and more punctual attendance of girls, noted how

(1) AG. 19J.0.01 (2) OMFS.Mins.. 26.10.45 (3) Select Committee.1816. p.125.

U) CEC.18A3. f.193, no.506. (5) Lectures bv Seven Clergymen. pp.153-4* -367-

'the late hours of receiving wages, and the consequent lateness of domestic occupation, tend to make this object so difficult to attain. 1 (l)

There is little doubt that the natural demands of parents and home life were another major source of disruption to a regular attendance in school. This particularly affected the attendance of girls both at day and Sunday schools;

!The girls are much less regular in their attendance, being called away by various causes, especially to nurse and take care o£ the family whilst the mother is at work, washing, etc. 1 (2)

This home involvement was seen by many providers as another of the signs of parental indifference or negligence towards the welfare of their children.

The perception of non-attendance as being the result of parental apathy, ignorance or refractoriness grew during the 1830 ! s and 184.0's, as providers refused to acknowledge the value or existence of alternative (3) schooling networks. This was part of the attack on working class parents already alluded to. There is, however, considerable evidence of working class parental care and interest in the schooling of their children, much of which in relation to prestige dates in the school (5) calendar of Sunday schools has been outlined by Laqueur; and this is reflected in the Birmingham evidence.

(1) NM3S Mine.. H.10.50 (2) CEC 18A3. f.191-2, no.504. (3) West, 'Resource Allocation 1 , p.89 U) Johnson, 'Kotes on Schooling 1 , p.51 (5) Laqueur, Sunday Schools, pp.171-2. -368-

The minutes of both Unitarian and the Carrs Lane Sunday schools recorded the gatherings of parents, teachers and friends at the annual meetings, and the care and attention bestowed on the children; 'their clean and neat appearance indicated that their parents had been at great pains in preparing them for the occasion. 1 ' The very existence of waiting lists for both day and Sunday schools suggests that there was a considerable parental interest in obtaining schooling. The King Edward f s elementary schools were illustrative of this interest, as was noted by the headmaster, who commented on

'the anxiety shown by Parents to gain admission to the School for their Children, and the dread with which suspension as a punishment is regarded. f (2)

The teachers at the Old Meeting Sunday schools recorded the parental interest and desire for schooling in one of the frequent minutes which noted the suspension of admission because the school was full : on having to turn prospective pupils away

f we have often observed in the features of the boys and more particularly their parents the severe disappointment they have met with. 1 (3)

No matter what the interests or desires of the parents regarding schooling for their children, it was often an economic necessity that their children went out to work; this again reducing the numbers likely to attend schools. The Unitarian missionary noted one mother's reason for not sending her son to day school, 'I have no choice : we cannot maintain him. 1 The missionary noted that this was

(1) ONES Mins.. 29.3.42. (2) GQR. 3.7.47 (3) OMFS Mins.. 29.3.42 -369-

'A deplorable truth, for this poor child represents thousands of his class. Parents would gladly send their children to school, but iron-handed necessity forbids it. 1 (l)

Parental poverty and the inability to provide the standards of clothing often prescribed by school rules was often cited as a reason for the non- attendance of children. The Unitarian mission, which to a great extent dealt with the very poorest and with those children not attending National or other day schools, noted how attendance was down because of sickness and the 'usual cause, viz. want of clothes, induced by the extreme destitution (2} of many of the parents. 1 ' The minutes of the Catholic school revealed the levels of poverty among their families; one boy was rewarded for good conduct with the presentation of a suit and shoes, he was 'without Shoes or Stockings and nothing but a few rags to cover him.' (3)' The Old Meeting teachers noted this habit of parents detaining their children f for want of Shoes and Clothes', but they urged the visitors to explain to parents

'the injurious consequences of (their) false delicacy....and to assure them that cleanliness and decency as far as circumstances will permit, is all we expect.' (4.)

For the very poorest of parents even the small sums charged for schooling could prove a financial impossibility. By the mid 1820's both the National and the Lancasterian schools had ceased to be free, leaving few schools providing free schooling. Wood's report noted that many working class parents were paying for schooling, between 2d and 6d per week in Dame Schools and 2d to l/3d in Common Day schools. ' Wood does not

(1) Birmingham Unit. D.M., 18/.7 Report, p.12. (2) Ibid., p.7. (3) Cath.Mins.. 3.7.25 U) OMFS.Mlns.. 28.12.28 (5) Wood 1838. Table 4, P-17. -370- unfortunately provide details of the charges in provided schools, but the National Society records give plenty of details of charges in the 184.0's. National schools seem on average to have charged 2d a week over the period, this was the level the St.James 1 schools proposed in 1828, and it was the amount charged by St.Thomas 1 and St.Bartholomews 1 in 1850. This level was reflected in Dissenting day schools, the Ebenezer school charging 2d (2) per week in 184.3. There was some flexibility in the charging systems; at St.Mark's the rate was 2d per week or 3d per week for two children of the same familyj (3)' and at St.Paul's there was a three tier charge system - 9d. per week for the children of manufacturers and shopkeepers, 6d. for the children of journeymen, and 3d for those of other working men. This system at St.Paul's had been set up earlier when its efficiency had attracted the children of ratepayers. By allowing $0 ratepayers 1 children on the books and charging them more, St.Paul's school was able to employ an extra teacher, buy extra equipment, as well as subsidise a ragged school in the destitute part of the parish. '

The status of St.Paul's school which attracted this support stemmed, according to a government inspector, from the 'untiring exertions (of) (6) Mr.Gover, the curate.. 1 which had made it a very effecient school. There is little doubt that in the matter of attracting attendance those schools did best who had the best facilities, widest curriculum or most notable teachers or organizers; hence St, Paul's success. Earlier in the

(1) NSLF. St.James 3.5.28; St.Thomas' 7.1.50; St.Bartholomew's 4.7.50. (2) CL.Mins., 21.7.43. The Ebenezer charge arose during discussion over rates for prospective Carrs Lane School.

(3) NSLF. St.Mark's 6.7.43. U) VCH, Warwicks. Vol.VII. p.535 (5) Ilins. CCE. 1847-8, Vol.1, pp. 117-121. (6) Ibid. -371-

1840's the Rev.Baptist Noel, H.K.I., had noted a similar position for St. Thomas's schools, which with the King Edward f s branch schools had gained an 'honourable superiority'1 over the other schools. The King Edward's schools with considerable resources behind them were able to provide an instruction superior to the National schools (2) and this was commented on (3) by National schools who felt the competition. ' The effect of a popular teacher or manager in a school was noted by a working silversmith in a letter recalling his school days in Pinfold Street National School. He was there in 1828 when Rev.W.F.Hook was a regular visitor,

1 Dr.Hook was a busy..man...once a month he came down to our school, and..examined the first class... we always did our best, because we knew the man and loved him. 1 (4)

The success of the Old Meeting in attracting pupils with its wide curriculum and liberal background needs no further amplification here. (5) A part of the Old Meeting's success stemmed from its visiting, of pupils, part of its efficient organization, and this was a factor in ensuring a good attendance which was stressed by both Anglicans and Dissenters.

The converse of the last paragraph also applied, with low attendances where conditions were poor, teaching slack and facilities limited. The attendance rate at St.Bartholomew's National school declined in the later 's as did the physical conditions. The Rev.Bellairs, H.i-i.I. noted of

(1) Mins. CCE. 1840-1. p.176 (2) Feild 1841 (3) NSLF, Bishop Ryder 23.3-41 (4) Stephens, Letters of W.F.Hook, p.124 (5) See detailed examination in Chapter 4, $ and 7. (6) Lectures by Seven Clergymen, p.99; OMFS.Mins.. 29.3.42 -372- the school that

! the privies are situate under the school; the effluvia very bad...the school is erected on the old burial ground...the situation altogether unhealthy; no pump; sometimes a foot of water in the privies.' (l)

The effect of this was stated by the perpetual curate, Rev .W.D. Long; he commented on

'the parish schools, which are...in a very ineffecient condition, in consequence of the wretchedly dilapidated state of the school buildings.' (2)

St.Bartholomew's had had troubles with poor conditions before the National school was built. In 1833 in appealing for aid it was noted that the girls' Sunday school was held in a pub, the entrance through a tap room. There was a great difficulty 'in obtaining competent and desirable female (3) teachers 1 as a consequence. Several other National schools recorded similar disadvantages of site and condition of their schools. St. Mary's noted that

'parents would be glad to send their children if better accommodation was provided...The present Boys1 School is seven feet below the level of the street - therefore is damp and unwholesome. 1 (5)

The physical limitations of the buildings used, particularly for Sunday schools, were a common factor in preventing numbers in individual schools from increasing. St.Paul's Sunday schools were often held 'on the

(1) Mins.CCE. 1847-8, Vol.1, p.152. (2) Midland Counties Herald, 24.5.4-9. (3) NSLF. St.Bartholomew's, Feb.1833.

(4) KSLF. St.Peter's 2.10.38; 9.2.34; St.John's 13.3.46; St.Andra/'s 28.4.49

(5) NSLF, St.Mary's 20.8.44 -373- landing places of the Chapel galleries'; and at St. Philip's

! the smallness and closeness of the (hired) apartments . . (meant a) . . .consequent limitation of the numbers that can be received into them. ' (l)

The same was frequently noted in Dissenting Sunday school records. A typical entry was that of the Old Meeting Superintendent who was 'obliged to refuse admission to several Boys 1 as the classes were all full; a later entry noted that this suspension of admission had been done frequently during the previous year. (2}'

It was not just the more tangible aspects of schooling which affected levels of attendance, for cultural pressures would also have played an important part. Just as important in affecting attendance was the reaction of the prospective pupils' or teachers 1 peer groups. The example of the King Edward's teacher trying to change the allegience of a Unitarian Sunday scholar has already been quoted. A revealing part of that report was the reaction of the other children at the school who, after this, taunted the pupil with cries of 'Here comes a young Unitarian. 1 (3)' Undoubtedly peer group pressure of this nature could play a large part not only in discouraging attendance at a particular school, but if derision was levelled at Sunday schools per se, in discouraging Sunday school attendance at all. The Old Meeting teachers noted that pupils needed great resolution and determination at work, where they were subject to 'the ridicule - the laugh, and the sarcasm of their companions who do not attend Sunday Schools. ^

(1) NSLF. St. Paul's 22.11.31; St. Philip's (2) OMES Mins.. 29.3-40; 21.4.40 (3) NMSS Mins.. 16.11.38 (4) OMFS Mins.. 18.4.43 -374-

Examples of cultural pressure being placed on scholars and teachers are also referred to in more oblique ways. Frequent references are made of the discouragements to schooling found in the workshop and factory in the way of alternative patterns of behaviour - 'immoral practices' as they were often called. These references stressed the dangers of the behaviour patterns in workshops and factories as being likely to lead to an abandoning of the modes of behaviour learnt in the Sunday school, and possibly the consequent cessation of Sunday school attendance. One Independent minister noted 'considerable difficulty in keeping the children at the Sunday school after the age of 12', ' the age by which most working class children were in employment. (2)

The attraction of Sunday schooling during the period in question was not strong enough to fully counter the pressures from within the sphere of work, neither, it would seem, was it always strong enough to overcome the natural reticence of many children to be entrapped indoors when they would rather have been outside. For, as Richard Johnson has warned,

'there is no reason to suppose that children in the nineteenth century were any less creative in their forms of resistance within school than children are now. ' (3)

The Old Meeting teachers' minutes prove a very valuable source here in the frankness of detail recorded as to why attendances on certain occasions were down:

(1) CEC.18A3. f.195, no. 509 (2) Gf . CEC 18£3* f. 191-9 for various references to evils inherent in the manufactories and workshops. (3) Johnson, 'Notes on Schooling 1 , p -375-

! as this is the time of year when many are tempted to go a bathing extra dilligence should be given to looking after the boys attendance...', and in winter time the minutes sometimes noted

! the great preference which our pupils give to the enjoyments offered on the Ice to those which are (in their view) offered here. 1 (l)

The various factors affecting attendance, or perceived by providers to be affecting attendance, all tend to suggest that the working class use of schooling was not at all haphazard. The multiplicity of variables affecting attendance adversely obviously caused much irregularity, but this was not (as often suggested) generally the result of parental apathy or negligence. The evidence suggests a conscious selective process by many working class parents in the adoption of schooling and in the instrumental use of the schools - schooling not affecting very much patterns of domestic or working life. This use of the provided system was very much the despair of many middle class providers who noted that the greatest obstacle to success was

f the very irregular habits of the Children, it being almost impossible to prevail upon them to remain sufficiently long for any impression to be made upon them... 1 (2)

(1) OMFS Mins.. 29.6.28; 27.12.40 (2) Cherry St. Mins.. 20.4.40. -376-

CONCLCSIOK

In examining the provision of schooling for working class children in Birmingham, this thesis has revealed some important factors which are of considerable relevance to a full appreciation of the development of schooling in society, both locally and nationally. Not least of these is the establishment of an accurate chronology of provided schooling.

The chronology of schooling development in Birmingham 1781-1851 can be seen as a series of disconnected impulses pushing and extending schooling. These impulses fall roughly into the three time spans used in this thesis. During the first period, 1781-1804, Sunday schooling was introduced and expanded. This was the first major attempt in England which aimed to bring all working class children into contact with provided schooling. It developed initially as a philanthropic response to the problem of unoccupied crowds of children who posed a threat to peace and property on the Sabbath. During the 1790's as working class unrest grew, Sunday schooling was also taken up as a means towards the preservation of social peace by those of the providing class who feared a social revolution. Concomitant with this was the founding of Schools of Industry and the reorganization and tightening of governor control in the King Edward's small schools.

The second phase of development was between 1805-1828. This period saw continued stress being laid on the importance of Sunday schooling, but also of great significance, the introduction of the idea of mass schooling into the province of day schools in the form of the monitorial movement. This phase also marked the failure of Anglican Sunday schools to attract pupils in comparison with the relative success of Dissent.

The final period, 1829-1851, saw not only a tremendous expansion in -377- provision, but also an expansion which in contrast to the earlier patterns, was sustained. Dissenters began to increase their day schooling provision which previously had been minimal and consolidated their Sunday schooling, while the Anglican rate of provision and effectiveness increased in both day and Sunday schools.

Several interesting and significant points arise from this chronology of schooling; perhaps the most significant, in terms of the motives behind provision, being the sporadic nature of the enterprise. The pattern revealed is very much one of strenuous activity followed "by a period of quiescence or even stagnation. These bursts of activity by providers occurred most noticeably during times of social upheaval. The growing unrest of the working class during the period of the French Revolution and the upsurge of radicalism in England was matched by the great urgings for and development of Sunday schools; the post Napoleonic War's distress and the growing working class artisan radicalism in Birmingham (1815-1820) was paralleled with encouragement and propaganda in favour of the values of Sunday and monitorial schooling; and similarly the Reform era agitation 1827-1833* was met with the first major increase of National Schools and the first entry of Dissent into the provision of denominational day schools. This link between social upheaval and the response of school providers in increasing schooling provision is perhaps most clearly seen during and immediately after the years of Chartist agitation in Birmingham, 1839-48; during this time the numbers of National and denominational day schools for working class children increased more rapidly than at any other time.

The schooling increase shown in the statistical survey was largely organized, financed and supported by the providers, who, as the investigation into their origins showed, were mostly all from the wealthy or relatively wealthy middle class. There was a marked homogenity of -378- origin between Anglican and many Dissenting providers, particularly Quakers and Unitarians, most being from the big bourgeoisie, or the professions or the clergy. The only real difference came in the Sunday schooling provision of Dissent where it seems that considerable elements were from the small-tradesmen section of the petit-bourgeoisie.

The thesis has commented on many instances where changes in schooling have reflected changes elsewhere, and where the sources of change have come from outside Birmingham. One of the interesting results which comes out of the survey of providers is how they were part of an intricate social network in the town. This local, internal network of marriage, family relationship, business relationship, local government connections and cross committee membership enabled a rapid and widespread reception and spread of ideas to take place. The channels by which national debate and ideas reached this local network was again aided by the connections of many of the providers to national figures and institutions; the clergy were obviously important in this respect, and similarly wealthy Quakers and Unitarians were very much in contact with co-religionists in other parts of the country.

The chronology and statistics of schooling revealed a considerable difference in the response to and success with schooling achieved by the Anglicans as compared to the Dissenters. The forms of schooling provided seem to have been heavily influenced by the different providing groups 1 social philosophies. The Anglicans in particular were looking to schooling as a means of controlling the working classes, and this was clearly reflected in the nature of the schooling they provided. Subscriber control of committees, self elected middle class boards of governors, subscriber recommendation of pupils with its overtones of patronage and deference, strict rules and regulations as to behaviour, dress and the need to attend -379- a specific form of worship, a limited and controlled curriculum, and a stress on order, obedience and subordination to the Establishment and those in authority, all showed the desire of Anglican educators to control the working classes. Hich of the Dissenting schooling followed this pattern, though without the stress on subordination or reverence of the Establishment; although, as noted, there were exceptions among the Unitarian schools.

As regards the question of control in the schools, it would seem that Laqueur's view of working class autonomy of Sunday school organization and direction will not stand up in the light of the Birmingham experience. It is really only the Unitarian Sunday schools and possibly the Baptist schools where real power was vested in and used by the working class teaching force. The other Dissenting schools may have had good working class attendance, teachers 1 committees and the appearance of being working class controlled, but from the evidence of typical Methodist,Congregational and Catholic schools as well as others it seems that chapel and congregation committees, usually dominated by members of the middle class exercised the ultimate controls and sanctions. Certainly in Anglican schools the control of the middle class and the clergy was extremely tight.

Related to the question of control is the noticeable change in approach of providers, particularly Anglicans, during the 18^.0 ! s into the ISSO's. It has been seen that there was a widening and secularization of the curriculum, and the stressing of a more "friendly" relationship between teacher and taught, intimating perhaps a closer contact between the classes of providers and clientele. This is not to suggest that secular was replacing moral, or that control was being replaced as a motive. What was being seen in this process was a shifting of inter-class relationships as the middle class perception of its social philosophy changed. V.'ith the -380- decline of Chartism the fear of revolution and social upheaval retreated, and it is noticeable that motives for schooling are more concerned after this with the improving of individuals and their conditions than with the staving off of revolutions. Nevertheless the religious and control elements remained.

This rethinking of philosophies which saw the middle classes moving into wmid-century Liberalism11 was also paralleled by a developing working class social philosophy. In their attempts to imbue the working class with correct notions, the providers often held the viewpoint that the working class children were culture less and thus would absorb readily any cultural behaviour patterns fed to them. As this thesis has shown the working class had a thriving culture, both socially and politically, but one which was changing over the period. The notions of respectability which were adopted by the Birmingham artisans in the early part of the nineteenth century were gradually replacing the older aspects of their culture as they adopted newer forms and approaches, seen in the rejection of superstition and many of the older sports, and in the acceptance of temperance and similar movements. Yet although there was perhaps more common ground by the 1850*8 there were still notable differences. The middle classes seeking the freedom of the individual while the working classes retained their trust in co-operation, reflected in the numerous societies and unions formed, and also the working class maintained a greater belief in the need for and value of democracy.

It is from these examinations of patterns of provision, investigation of providers and discussion of educational content in its various forms that reasons why some schooling was successful and other schooling not so -381- becomes apparent. It is suggested here that the working class use of provided schooling was throughout instrumental. In the years up to 1851 it was never considered so highly as to become more important than work or family committments. This was perhaps mainly because in its form and content it was not providing what the working class wanted. Those schools which were working class run and provided an effecient and relevant education prospered, the others struggled. The working class children came and went from these schools under the pressure of other factors and once they had gained the skills they wanted, they generally left. It is, however, possible to trace the indirect influence of parents on the schools. This is perhaps best seen in the differential success of Dissenting and Anglican Sunday schools in the early phase, where the former were closer to the working class parent; and also in the more open attitude and concessions made to parents and children which were part of the Anglican shift in emphasis in the 1830 f s and 1840 f s.

In general this thesis has shown that the view which interprets nineteenth century education in terms of "social control" has both its strengths and limitations. Controlling motives are apparent almost everywhere among the providing groups, but it must be borne in mind that there is a very important distinction between motives and outcome. As this thesis has shown, the historical outcomes were at least as much determined by working class needs and preferences as they were by providing intentions. -382-

APPENDIX A

The Statistics of Day Schooling

A few words of explanation are necessary for the interpretation of the tables in this appendix. As noted in Chapter 1, the compilation of a set of attendance statistics is not a straight forward matter. The types of figures can vary from stated average attendance, to numbers on books, to just a prose description of the state of the schools. These appendix tables, using informed estimation, as explained previously, have enabled a reliable guide to the general trends of attendance to be created; though, once again, it must be stressed that these totals only represent an informed estimate of the total, and must not be taken as totally accurate representations of the numbers attending school.

The various types of figure are represented in the tables in the following way:-

1. A stated figure of average attendance is represented by that number alone : e.g. 247

2. Where a figure is given by a source as number on the books, two alternatives have existed for calculating an attendance figure from it : first, if any other figures of percentage attendance rate are known at that school within three years either side of the given figure's year, these will be applied to the number given; secondly, if this is not the case, an attendance rate of 66.6% will be taken, this being lower than the general average, (See Chapter 8), and thus will not unnecessarily inflate the figures. Such figures will be represented in the table with an overhead dot : e.g. 247"

3. Where no figure of average attendance or of numbers on the book is known, but there are figures close enough from other years and other written evidence on the "state" of a school, then this will be taken into consideration in estimating a figure. Such a figure will be represented by an asterisk : e.g. 247* -383-

4. Where insufficient evidence exists to make a detailed, informed estimate, an allowance for a school's known existance will be made, and represented by a question mark : e.g. 100?

5. For a few schools known to exist, there is no information available on size, attendance, etc., these have not been included.

This appendix is in three parts; the first two providing Anglican and Dissenting tables and graphs respectively, and the third part providing a list of the main sources used in compiling the statistics. As a means of clarifying the extent of estimation in the tables, the figures have also been displayed in graph form following the tables. They are constructed to show the following:-

1. The levels of known average attendance and percentage calculated numbers on books, shown with a straight line; e.g. ———————

2. The levels shown above of attendance plus the estimated figures, represented here by dashes; e.g. ——

3. The total levels of the above two categories plus the allowed figures, shown by a dotted line ...... where it is extra to that of the total of the first two.

APPENDIX A : TABLES (1)

FIGURES OF ANGLICAN DAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

The following abbreviations are used in the Anglican Tables : 'N' for a National School; 'National 1 for the first National school in Pinfold Street; 'Smalls 1 for the King Edward f s small schools, and 'Elem's 1 for the Elementary schools attached to King Edwards; 'KES 1 for the King Edward's Free Grammar School; and 'Free Ind. School 1 for the Birmingham Free Industrial School. -384-

School 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790

KES 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80*

Blue Coat 120* 120* 109 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120*

KES "Smalls" 240* 240* 240* 240* 240* 240* 236 206 200* 240* Workhouse --______--

Total 440 440 429 440 440 440 436 406 400 440

School 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800

KES 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80*

Blue Coat 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120* 120*

KES "Smalls" 240* 240* 240* 280* 280* 280* 280* 280* 280* 280*

Workhouse ------248 290 269

Total 440 440 440 480 480 480 480 728 770 749

School 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810

KES 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80*

Blue Coat 120* 190 135 141* 120 141* 141* 141* 141* 141*

KES "Smalls" 320* 320* 320* 356 320* 370* 320* 320* 320* 320*

Workhouse 281 250 200 235 270* 270* 270* 270* 270* 270*

Total 801 840 735 812 790 861 811 811 811 811 -385-

School 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 KES 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80* 80*

Blue Coat 141* 141* 141* 140 141* 158 152 152 147 158

KES "Smalls" 320* 320* 320* 320* 320* 320* 320* 320* 372 389

Workhouse 270* 270* 270* 270* 270* 270* 270* 270* 390* 358

National - 200" 375* 375* 514* 371* 624* 534* 310* 413"

Total 811 1011 1186 1185 1325 1199 1446 1356 1299 1398

School 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 KES 70' 80* 80* 80* 92* 88" 90* 78* 78* 87"

Blue Coat 160 147 142 144 160 181 194 218 255 226 KES "Smalls" 334* 334* 331* 328" 301* 185* 115* 36* 36*

Workhouse 405 324 314 273* 207 273* 265 273* 284 344

National 383* 288* 184* 142* 83' 357 405 340* 359* 430 Bordesley 'N 1 - - - - 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? St. James 'N 1 ------100* 133 94*

Total 1352 1173 1051 967 943 1184 1169 1145 1245 1281 -386-

School 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 KES 67* 66* 81* 119' 143* 153* 166* 303* 406* 405*

Blue Coat 239 288 203 192 184 164 153 146 149 154 K.E. "Elem's" - 300* 500* 610*

Workhouse 273* 281 268 231 228 200 245 255 273* 273* National 370 349* 334* 356* 326* 325* 325* 324 285* 246 Bordesley 'N'100? 100? 100? 100? 198 181* 181* 190 181* 181*

St. James 'N 1 94* 94* 94* 94* 88 81* 75 80 96* 96* St. Mary 'N 1 111 237* 273* 237* 226' 237* 237* 211 237* 338*

St. Thomas'N 1 - 250* 286* 250* 250* 215 250* 250* St. Bart. 50' 151" 183* 183* 158 183* 183* St.George 'N 1 - 157* 234* 234* 250 234* 234* Christ Church - 135 157* 157*

Total 1254 1415 1353 1629 1987 2008 2049 2567 2951 3127 -387-

School 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 KES 407* 405' 406* 402* 408* 406* 407* 403* 404* 403* 414' Blue Coat 260 183 192 212 184 190 194 177 153 174 180

K.E. "Elem's" 621* 656 692* 660* 660* 660* 660* 690* 660* 660* 660*

Workhouse 220 273* 273* 273* 273* 273* 273* 273* 273* 273* 297

National 259 235* 209* 183* 157* 131* 105 90' - Bordesley 'N' 155 167* 167* 167* 167* 108 174 232 167* 167* 167*

St. James 'N 1 132 100* 100* 100* 100* 100* 96 160 100* 100* 100*

St. Mary 'N 1 315 360* 338* 376 338* 290 351 338* 338* 211+ 140+ St. Thomas 'N 1 260 256* 237 208+ 190+ 248 289 256* 256* 360 210+

St. Bart 'N 1 222 210 183* 176 110* 82 101 110* 83 89* 89*

St. George 'N 1 280 250 284* 311 293 294 320 390 322* 157+ 145+

Christ Church 180 255* 255* 255* 281 255* 304* 255* 255* 255* 255*

St. Matthew 'N 1 240 468 414 337 376 440 369 238 200* 200* 200*

St. Lukes •N 1 - 100* 252 228 218 325* 431 301* 340 320

St. Mark 'N 1 - 100 210 215 201 229* 260 260 316 346

St. Philip 'N' - 120 140 170 107+ 181 210 154* 127 96

All Saints 'N 1 - 50* 135 151 112 173* 129 140* 140*

Bishop Ryder •N ' 256 273 233 268 240 254* 254* 254*

St. Paul's • N > - 100* 280 190+ 201+ 212* 218+ 240+

St. Peter's 'N' 76 115 120* 125 103* 75 90* -388-

School 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851

Free Ind. School. - 62 60 105* 105* 105 105 St. Stephen's 'N 1 173 201 200 191* 191* 191*

St. John's 'N 1 220 232* 232* 243 232* 232* St. Andrew's 146 203* 203* 260 203* 203*

Edgbaston 36 152* 152* 165 176 230

Total 3451 3818 4070 4568 4734 5419 5916 6144 5588 5426 5304

n.b. A figure followed by a + sign means that it only represents certain departments of that school, and that there are thus other children in the school not accounted for. ... .i:.:j . . . __. .-389-.... • • . - : . : . . . • '.'-", •'•'.'-.:• j . • ! • ' • ' ...... ' ' , ———

- - -r .... ', . ..i ._!-- • : Al .,:.. • . I | . ; . t 1 1 , j. i . . i . i ^ILL''~r ; LEVELS OF ANGLICAN DAY SCHOOL AVERAGE ATTENDANCE (1)

! ; jj;j ; .;. i...... , ' .•: i"j mr::. ; ' i I L-...-._..j....: ...;:__.,...... j ...... : .. : ..... - • . : .... .'. 'i '. ' ;'!. • . . " T j •;, : - :. . - • f' , • i : i ..'.,: '. ; ' '• : !- : ;.: . - '.''..' i-.. ; • : : ' • • • ::.::.! i" • ' . r-:lOOO ai:j_'.'-.. ..':-,•;..•• -i ...... L: .:.T--~- ~'~ - • i .... , . .1 • • • - i . • ' .. .., .. . iJ ...:-..' . :• i ' : !' -----1-500 . 11.. ... ^ _ , ^_ _ — - —

. • i • . - - . . IIMIIIII • •.Hi..—

1781 82 : 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94

1809 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

j.: : All vcrLical axes in Appendix A tables show number of pupils. -290- !-&.. — m APPENDIX A TABLES 4-. LEVELS OF ANGLICAN DAY SCHOOL AVERAGE ATTENDANCE (2)

..."—2500 i:::i : :: ^ ',. ! i' ' ..::——.:!:_;.:• 2000

1500

1000

500

1823 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 :._...J

"TV"!""'•_•_•'• "£'••: : i!

1837 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 :• -391-

APPENDIX A : TABLES (ii)

FIGURES OF DISSENTING DAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

The following abbreviations have been used for Dissenting Schools in the tables here: 'Prot Diss 1 for Protestant Dissenting; 'Lanes' for Lancasterian; 'B'h and Edg' for Birmingham and Edgbaston Girls' British; 'R.C.' for Roman Catholic; I or Inf for Infants; 'Wesley' for Wesleyan; 'Unit Miss' for Unitarian Mission Hurst Street; 'Wes. (5)' for combined totals of 5 Wesleyan day schools; and 'L. St. Units' for Lawrence Street Unitarians.

School 1801 02 03 04 05 06 07 G$ 09 10

Prot. Diss. 50* 80 50* 50* 50* 50* 50* 50* 50* 50* Lanes. Boys _„„_-„__ 235 336

Total 50 80 50 50 50 50 50 50 285 386

School______1811 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Prot. Diss 50* 50* 42* 42* 42* 42* 42* 36 42* 42*

Lanes Boys 336* 336*336* 336* 340* 372* 378* 364* 361* 357*

Lanes Girls - - 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100?

B'h. and Edg. ----- 50? 50? 50? 50? 50?

Total 386 386 478 478 482 564 570 550 553 549

n.b. No separate table has been given for 1781-1800; the only Dissenting day school was the Protestant Dissenting Charity which had a steady attendance estimated at 50. -392-

School 1821 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Prot. Diss 42* 42* 42* 42* 40 42* 48 42* 46 42* Lanes. Boys 328* 259* 264- 264* 100* 170 216 256 256 228 Lanes. Girls 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? B'h, and Edg. 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? St.Chads R.C. 49* 46* 55* 69* 67* 150* 323* 523* Ann St. Inf. 90 150 160 160 160 Islington Inf, 50* 100+ 112 115

Total 520 451 505 502 345 521 681 858 1047 1218

School 1831 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Prot. Diss 42* 42* 43 42* 42* 42* 42* 45 42* 42* Lanes. Boys 233* 233* 193* 180* 180* 180* 180* 150 70 200 Lanes. Girls 100? 100? 110 100? 100? 100? 100? 136 100? 100? B'h. and Edg. 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 73 66* 66* 474* 496* St. Chads R.C. 712* 252* 229* 229* 229* 213 210 229* 130* Ann St. Inf. 148 120 133 130* 135 118 125 107 104 98* Islington Inf. 87 73 73 98* 98* 136 133 117 75? New Jerusalem - ~ 126 174* 174* 174* 200 180 174* 230 St. Peters R.C. - - - 152* 152* 152* 152* 160 152* 152* Wesleyan Day - - - 100? 150? 150? 150? 255 150? 150? Wesleyan Inf. « - - 82* 82* 82* 82* 134 82* 82*

Ebenezer - - f9 — — - — — 200 184

Total 1372 1092 1224 1360 1354 1375 1446 1586 1467 1640 -393-

School______1841 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Prot. Diss 42 42* 39 38 42* 42* 42* 40 50 42* 42* Lanes. Boys 251* 251* 251* 251* 250 251* 251* 273 280 251* 223 Lanes. Girls 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 100? 102 B'h. and Edg. 66* 66* 66* 66* 66* 66* 70 66* 60 59 66* St. Chads. 229* 229* 229* 229* 229* 229* 229* 229* 240 300 310 Ann St. Inf. 153 134* 134* 134* 134* 134* 134* 120 134* 134* 134* Islington I. 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? 75? New Jerus. 174* 120 174* 174* 174* 174* 174* 174* 200 174* 160* St. Peters 152* 152* 152* 152* 152* 152* 152* 152* 145 198 188 Wesley Day 150? 100? 100? 100? 118* 110 118* 119* 125 118* - Wesley Inf. 82* 82* 82* 82* 82* 61 55* 55* 50 55* - Ebenezer 185* 185* 170 154* 154* 154* 154* 154* 154* 154* 137 Hebrew N - 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 50? 85 50? 50? 61 Unit Miss. 50? 100? 120* 160* 200 186 200* Wes. (5) - 200* 444 400* 400* 400* 400* 428 Carrs Lane ----- 150? 295* 380 375 295* 206 L. St. Units _.._-.-_- 120 120* 120 120 Other R.C's. ------91 492 664

1659 1586 1622 1605 1876 2292 2419 2702 2849 3203 3116 -394- APPENDIX A TABLES

LEVELS OF DISSENTING DAY SCHOOL AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

• r .:..:]... i. .. '. .. . •!_.;_ : _T _L : ^- 1000 i ~. ' ; - • I , ' ' • i ; I : \--rn 500

- - J 1781 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 • •' ' ' : '. : , ; ..' • • -• :•:: :::: M . ,: ; '" :. 10C " ~ . 4_ r* . . . ..:: i • 5C~r\* .....I/:._J—_ .: .. : ... 1 I ! 1795,t 96 97. .98 99 00 01 02 03. 04 05 _ 06 07 08

11809 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

—:r~r™

',1500 ' r .,,.4-,- ^..^•rJ-jlOOO

1..::. 500 . .:: .:;:..:. j : :r.; , 7 . j ..!:;:.:.: ,:: ,.- ..... r , . .. • r 1823 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3.1 32 33 34 35 36 .:',

i . : ; ^-|-^2500 __... ..;.. !.._•_J

1837 38 :J9 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 -395-

APPENDIX A : SOURCES FOR TABLES (iii)

This section lists the sources which were most useful in compiling the statistical tables. Not every source has been mentioned here as this to a great extent would duplicate the primary sources listed in the bibliography. The main sources are mentioned here in brief, the full references being in the bibliography.

(a) ANGLICANS School archives at KES and Blue Coat School; National Schools' correspondence in NSLF, and National Society Annual Reports; C. of E. Lay Association Reports; and many references in Aris's Gazette and the Birmingham Journal.

(b) DISSENTERS Records and minute books of individual Dissenting Congregations; Annual reports of national denominational education committees; and again newspaper references in both Aris's Gazette and the Birmingham Journal.

(c) BOTH ANGLICANS AND DISSENTERS. Minutes of the Committee of Council; Wood's Statistical Report, 1838; and Mann's 1851 Education Census. -396-

APPENDIX B

Calculations of working class and child percentages of total population

order that a comparison could be made between the number of working class children receiving a provided education and those not doing so, it has been necessary to calculate both the percentage of the population aged 5-15 years, as well as the percentage of the population which was working class.

The total population figures have been established for every tenth year and were based either on contemporary estimates of population or the census returns. The figures for 1781 and 1791 have been estimated from information in Hanson's Plans of Birmingham and the 1801 Census. Census figures are available for 1801 to 1851 and are the nearest approximations to be obtained as to actual population, (2) though their inaccuracies are known. The lack of a breakdown into age groups in the 1801 and 1811 Censuses means that the calculation of the number of children in the population is a matter of estimation. The 1821 and 1831 Censuses show that 25%, of the population was aged between 5 and 15, and those for 1841 and 1851 show 22% of the population aged 5 to 15. It is appreciated that age structure may have been different between 1781 and 1820, but it is unlikely to have differed radically. On this basis 25% has been taken as the figure for the child portion of the population. Table (i) below shows how the information in Tables 8 and 9 was calculated.

(1) VCH, Warwicks, Vol.VI p.8. (2) W.A. Armstrong, 'Social Structure from the Early Census Returns', in E.A. Wrigley, (ED.). An introduction to English Historical Demography, (1966), p.210. -397-

TABLE (i)

BIRMINGHAM'S TOTAL POPULATION AND CHILD POPULATION: 1781 - 1851

-

«__„ Birmingham Aston in Edgbaston Total "B'ham." B'ham. Child JL CtCl JK Parishes Birmingham Parish Population Population

1781 * * * c 46,500 11,625

1791 * * * c 54,500 13,625

1801 60,822 9,354 1,155 71,331 17,833

1811 70,207 11,493 1,180 82,880 20,720

1821 85,416 15,351 2,117 102,884 25,721

1831 110,914 27,328 3,954 142,196 35,549

1841 138,215 38,079 6,605 182,922 40,243

1851 * 232,841 51,225

The amount of children in the population as calculated above is obviously a mixture of all classes. If comparisons of working class children at provided schools with working class children not at those schools are to be made, it is necessary to know what percentage of the total population is of the working class. It is very difficult to determine this percentage, not just because of the lack of relevant or reliable figures, but also because of the difficulties of the exact definition of working class. An attempt has been made to estimate the working class percentage of Birmingham's population, and on this the Tables 8 and 9 were partly based.

(1) Birmingham as defined in the Preface. Figures from Hanson's plans and decennial censuses. -398-

The percentage of the population in Birmingham which was working class is being taken as 90%, and this is also being taken as the working class child percentage of the total child population. It is appreciated that mortality, birth rates and family size will have varied over-time and between different social groups, but it seems more valid to maintain a constant estimated percentage than either attempt a series of estimated figures on virtually no evidence or to make no estimation at all. The 90% figure is arrived at through examining the 1838 Burgess Roll for Birmingham. This contained 8,000 names and provided eligibility to vote at Municipal elections. The franchise for these elections was wider than for the Parliamentary elections, but the electors were still predominantly of the middle class; firhe Borough Council of Birmingham was no exception 1 , (in its (2) electorate). The population of Birmingham in 1838 was (3) approximately 170,000 and the male portion of that figure about 75,000. Taking into consideration that not all of the 8,000 Burgesses would be middle class, it can be suggested that approximately 10% of the male population was middle class - this has been taken to apply to both sexes - and thus 90% were of the working class.

(1) W. Scholefield, (Returning Officer), List of Burgesses of the Borough of Birmingham 1838, (Birmingham 1838); details were 4,653 Birmingham, Duddeston and Nechells, 1,362 Deritend and Bordesley, and 538 Edgbaston - totalling 7,984.

(2) C. Gill, History of Birmingham, (Oxford 1952), Vol.1, p.240.

(3) Rev. T. Nunns, A Letter to the Rt. Hon. Lord Ashley on the Condition of the Working Classes in Birmingham, (Birmingham 1842) p.24. -399-

This approximation is supported by the figure of the percentage of the child population that was working class, calculated from Wood's Statistical Society Report and from Nunn's letter to Lord Ashley. Table 11 shows that 91% of the children receiving education were of the working class. This figure is based on a careful reading of Wood's report which contains a breakdown of the schools and their clientele, clearly distinguishing middle class schools; 'Three of these schools, (Infant) with 68 scholars, are for the children of the middle class of society'. ' Of a child population of (2) 45,000 Wood details 21,824 receiving some schooling leaving 20,676 with no schooling. Rev. Nunns 1 letter to Lord Ashley suggested that most of those not being educated were to 'be (3) regarded as belonging wholly to the operative class'. It seems probable that this would be so for the earlier period. A small percentage of those accounted for as receiving no education would probably be middle class children -receiving a private education at home or away at a boarding or other school out of Birmingham. Wood's figures reveal 9% middle class children in Birmingham schools (Private and provided) and it is perhaps not unreasonable to assume a similar percentage of the 'non-education' group were middle class. The figure for working class children has been taken as 90% of the total child population based on the above calculations in Wood and on the Census calculations described earlier.

(1) Wood 1838, p.13. (2) Ibid, p.l. (3) Nunns, Letter to Lord Ashley, p.24. -400-

TABLE (ii)

Calculations for working class % being educated (1)

Middle Class Working Class All Classes

Children Children Children Schools All Ages 5-15 Schools All Ages 5-15 All Ages 5-15

(Private 68 27 (Dame 3,900 2,174 D( Infants (Schools A( ( Y( Superior 2,166 1,845 D( Common 4,280 3,704 (Schools 2,234 1,872 A (Day Y( Charity 3,331 3,208 (Infant 735 386 12,246 9,472 14,480 11,344 / Evening 104 56 Evening 459 245 563 301

Sunday 15 10 Sunday 16,742* 14,310 -4,141* 10,169 16,757* 10,179

2,353 1,938 29,447 19,886 31,800* 21,824

*Those who attend Day and Sunday School.

Thus in 1838:« Children aged 5-15 receiving education : 21,824 : 100% Working Class Children 5-15 receiving education : 19,886 : 91% Middle Class Children 5-15 receiving education : 1,938 : 9%

1. Wjpod 1838, Adapted from Table A, p.3. - 401 - BIBLIOGRAPHY

This bibliography contains all the works cited in the text plus several others which proved useful in the writing of this thesis.

Except where stated otherwise, all publications are from London.

I. PRIMARY GROUPS

1. Manuscript

(a) In Birmingham Central Reference Library:

Minutes of Garrs Lane Sabbath Schools; July l8l2-March 1845.

Lombard Street Baptist Chapel Minute Book; 1788-1829. New Meeting Sunday School Committee Minutes; 1824-33; 1834-42; 1843-52. New Meeting Minutes of the Vestry Meeting; l?88-92; 1792-1804; 1804-13; 1813-1823.

Old Meeting Sunday School Friendly Society Minutes: 1809-31; 1839-43•

Old Meeting Sunday School Committee Minutes, 1787-1818. Protestant Dissenting Charity School Minute Book, Vols. 2, 4» 5* and 6; 1779-1796, 1825-56. St. Chad's, Regulations for the Catholic Sunday School established in Birmingham; 1809,(Microfilm):also includes St. Chad's Catholic Sunday School reports 1809-22; Sunday and Day school reports 1823-39; Minutes of the Sunday school 1815-20; and Catholic Poor School Committee Minutes 1849-67-

Aris's Gazette Obituary List.

Kenrick, Archibald, Diary of Archibald Kenrick of Birmingham and West Bromwich 1787-89. (typescript)

(b) In Birmingham University Library:

The Diary of Julius Hardy; Button-maker of Birmingham 1788-93 •> (typescript)

(c) In Friends' Meeting House Strong Room, Bull Street, Birmingham:

Bird, Rev. E. Letters t:cT the Committee of Severn Street School, 1845.

Minute Book of Friends 1 First Day School. (d) In Methodist Central Hall, Corporation Street, Birmingham:

Minutes of Cherry Street Sunday School Committee, 1838-1852.

(e) In Blue Coat School Archives, Metchley Road, Harborne, Birmingham:

Blue Coat School, Committee Minute Books, Vols. 5-8. - 4O2 -

Blue Coat School, School sub-committee Minutes; 1833-41; 1843-33•

(f) In King Edward's School Archives, Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham:

King Edward's Elementary Schools' Admission Registers; 1840 and 183.1.

King Edward's Elementary Schools' Committee Minutes; 1832-42.

King Edward's School, Governors* Attendance Register; 1797-1878.

King Edward's School, Governors' Orders and Resolutions; volumes covering 1781-1851.

(g) In Warwick Record Office.

Galton Family Papers: Lancasterian New School, plans and papers 1812. (h) In Methodist Archives, Epworth House, City Road, London: Minutes of Birmingham and Shrewsbury District, c.l80Q-l832. (i) In Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London: Calenders of Probate, 1794-1858.

(j) In High Court of Justice, Probate Division, Waterloo Street, Birmingham:

Calenders of Probate, 1858-1943. (k) In National Society Record Office, Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster:

National School Letter Files; relating to various national Schools in Birmingham.

2. Parliamentary Papers Census Reports (Decennial) for Great Britain, l801-l851. Abstract of the Answers and Returns Relative to the Poor, P.P. (1803-4), Xiii Report of the Select Committee on the State of Children Employed in the Manufactories of the United Kingdom,P.P. l8l6 (397) Vol. III. Digest of the Parochial Returns made to the Select Committee on the Education of the Poor, P.P. 1819, (224) IX. Reports of the Charity Commissioners, Vol. 20, (1829).

Abstract of answers and returns relative to the State of Education in England and Wales, PJ?. 1833? xliii. Report from the Select Committee on the Education of the Poorer Classes, P.P. 1837-8, (589) Vol. VII. - 403 -

Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education 1839-1852.

Second Report of the Commissioners inquiring into the employment of children . . . . /Trades and Manufactures/, P.P. 1843 (430) Vol. XIII.

Appendix to Second Report, Part 1, with Reports and Evidence from Sub Commissioners, P.P. 1843 (431) Vol. XIV.

Population (Great Britain); Religious Worship (England and Wales) T Report and Tables, P.P. (1852-3) Ixxxix.

Report of Commissioners for Taking a Census of Great Britain on Education, P.P. 1852-3 (1692) Vol. XC.

Reports and Minutes of Evidence, Schools Inquiry Commission, P.P. (1867-8), Vol. V, Part II.

3. Domestic School and Chapel Records

Account of the General Institution . . . for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Children, (Birmingham 1814).

A Short Account of the Blue Goat Charity School, Birmingham, (Birmingham 1806).

A Short Account of the Charity School in St. Philip's Churchyard in Birmingham: 1724-1817, (Birmingham 1817).

A Short Account of the Blue Goat Charity School, Birmingham, (Birmingham 1832).

Baker, H. (and Others), Centenary Celebration 1803-19Q3* Historical memoranda relating to ... Ebenezer Chapel, Steelhouse Lane, and the Sunday Schools and Institutions associated with it,(Birmingham, 1903).

Bickley, W.B. Broadsides etc. . . . relating to Birmingham, c.1768-1927. Collection of newspaper cuttings, pamphlets, posters etc. including some relating to schools (i.e. annual reports etc.) B.R.L.

Birmingham Free Industrial School, First Annual Report, 1850, (Birmingham 1831).

Birmingham Infant School Society, Annual Reports, lst-8th (1825-6 to 1832-3) and 10th-14th (1834-5 to 1838-9).

Birmingham Sunday School (Church of England) Teachers' Union; Rules, (Birmingham 1835). Birmingham Sunday School Union, Historical Sketch of Fifty Years of Work 1842-92, (Birmingham 1893).

Birmingham Sunday School Union Quarterly Record, Vols. 1 and 2, 1848-51 and 1851-54, (Birmingham 1848-54).

Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission Society, Report of Provisional Committee l840» (Birmingham 1840).

Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission Society, First Annual Report for 1840, (Birmingham 1840).

Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission Society, Eighth Annual Report for 1847, (Birmingham 1847). - 404 -

British and Foreign Schools Society, Annual Reports 1814-1832, (1815-1853).

Church of England Lay Association of Birmingham and its Vicinity, Annual Reports, 1843-1847« (Birmingham 1843-1847).

Coombs, S.M. Carrs Lane Meeting House, A Retrospect, (Birmingham 1898). Peild, Rev. E., 'State of Parochial Education in the Diocese of Worcester 1 , in Annual Report of the National Society for 1841, (1842).

Friends' First Day School Association, Report of delegates . . . for the purpose of forming a Friend's First Day School Association, (Manuscript 1847). BRL.

Hale, J.E. Cannon Street Sunday Schools (now Graham St.) Birmingham. An Historical Sketch 1795-1895, (A special edition of the Mount Zion Messenger), (Birmingham 1895).

Mills, S.J. 'A Short Sketch of Cherry Street (now Central) Sunday School 1 , in Central Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School Minute Book. Read as a paper 25.11.95. Mount Zj.on Female Sunday School Benefit Society Rules, 1836, (Birmingham 1836). National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor, Annual Reports 1812-1852, (1813-1853).

New, Herbert, Centenary of the Church of the Messiah, (formerly Mew Meeting) Sunday Schools. Sketch of the History of the Schools from their commencement in 1788, (Birmingham 1888).

New, H. Hurst Street Domestic Mission; ITotes on its Fifty Years History (Birmingham 1890). Reports of the Birmingham Institution for the Education of Poor Children, 1814-1826., (Birmingham 1814-26).

Reports of the Committee of the Birmingham New Jerusalem Free Day School, (Birmingham) 1838-40. Report of the Finance Committee and Trustees of the Royal Lancasterian Institution for the Education of the Poor for the Year 1811, (1812).

Report of the Royal Lancasterian Free School, in Severn Street, Birmingham, for 1822, (Birmingham 1822) in W.B. Bickley, Broadsides etc, relating to Birmingham, c.1768-192?. BRL. Report of the state of Sunday schools in Birmingham, at Michaelmas, 1791. (Birmingham 1791)- Rules and Catalogue of King Street Chapel Sunday School Library (Birmingham 1841). Rules of the Cherry Street Wesleyan Methodist Sunday Schools, (Birmingham 1840).

Rules and Regulations of the Guardians of the Poor, of the Parish of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1841).~~ - 405 -

Rules and Regulations for the Management of the Sunday Schools Connected "with the Established Church in Birmingham, (Birmingham 1823)»

Showell, J.W. 'Early History of the Baptists in Birmingham 1 , in Cannon Street Chapel, Re-port of the recognition services on the settlement of the Rev. I. Lord as pastor, (Birmingham 1858).

Stych, J., History of the Newhall Hill Church and Schools, (Birmingham 1892. Private publication).

Wesleyan Education Committee Annual Report, 1837-1832. (1838-53).

Rev. J. Wood, A Short History of the Old Meeting Church and Sunday Schools, (Birmingham, 1897).

4* Contemporary Works

A Course of Lectures to Sunday School Teachers by Seven Clergymen of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1854).

Barrett, J.C., The Bible the only Safe Basis of national Education; A Sermon, (Birmingham, 1838).

Bates, William, A Pictorial Guide to Birmingham, (Birmingham 1849)*

Beale, C.H., Memorials of the Old Meeting House and Burial Ground, Birmingham, (Birmingham 1882).

Bedford, Rev. W.Z. Riland, Three Hundred Years of a Family Living, Being a History of the Rilands of Sutton Goldfield,(Birmingham 1889)7

Beilby, Knott and Beilby, An Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1830).

Birmingham Loyal and Constitutional Association, Report of the First Anniversary Meeting, (Birmingham 1835)•

Birmingham Statistical Society for the Improvement of Education, Report on the State of Education in Birmingham, (Birmingham 1840).

Brougham, Henry, Practical Observations upon the Educa -faion of the People addressed to the working classes and their employers, (l825«9th edition).

Carlile, Nicholas, A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales, 2 vols. (l8l8). Clark, Thomas jun. A Biographical Tribute to the Liemory of James Luckcock, (Birmingham 1835)* Clive, Caroline, Diary of Caroline Clive, (1948), Edited by Lady Mary Clive.

Dale, R.-T. (Ed.), Life and Letters of Rev. J.A. James, (1862).

Darwall, Rev. J., An address to the Parents of Poor Children in the hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley, (Birmingham 1815).

Davie, George, Saint Monday; or, Scenes from Low-Life, (Birmingham 1790). - 406 - Driver, A.H., Garrs Lane 1748-1948 (Swann Press llorthampton 1948).

Freeth, John, The Rights of Mankind, (1790).

Gardner, Rev. L. A Sermon Preached at the Anniversary Meeting of the Stewards of the Sons of the Clergy, 1817, (1818). —————

Griffiths, George, Going to Markets and Grammar Schools . . . 1830 to 1670, 2 vols (1870) in Woburn Press Reprint, (1971).~~

Griffiths, George, History of the Free-Schools, Colleges, Hospitals and Asylums of Birmingham, (l86l).

Hawkes Smith, W., Birmingham and its Vicinity as a Manufacturing and Commercial District, (Birmingham 1836).

Hill, Frederic, An Autobiography of Fifty Years in Times of Reform, (1894), Edited by Constance Hill.

Hill, Frederic, National Education; It's Present State and Prospects, 2 vols., (1836).

Holyoake, Sixty Years of an Agitator's Life, 2 Vols. (1900).

Hutton, W., History of Birmingham, (Birmingham, 1781).

Jesse, William, The Importance of Education, (Kidderminster 1785).

Lancaster, Joseph, Improvements in Education as it respects the Industrious Glasses of the Community, (l8Q6).

Langford, J.A., A Century of Birmingham Life, 2 vols, (Birmingham 1868).

Langford, J.A., Modern Birmingham and its Institutions, 2 vols., (Birmingham nd.)

Luckcock, James, Moral Culture, '(l8l7).

Madan, Rev. Spencer, 'My Dear Neighbours and Fellow Christians: An Address 1 in Villers, Admonition (Birmingham 1795)-

Madan, Rev. Spencer, The Duty and Necessity of Humiliation, Repentance, and Self Reform; A Sermon Preached at St. Philip's Church, (Birmingham 1795).

Manton, Henry, Alderman Manton's Reminiscences, (written specially for the Birmingham Weekly Mercury); collected in Newspaper Cuttings, Birmingham Reminiscences, Macmillan Collection, 1843-1906, BRL 302127.

Marsh, C.M., The Life of the Rev. William Marsh, P.P., by his daughter, (1868)

Mathews, C.E. (pseud. Historicus) The Grammar School of King Edward VI in Birmingham; its history and suggestions for its improvement,(Birmingham 1864). Matthews, William, A Sketch of the Principal Means which Have Been IJ-rplo.yed to Ameliorate the Intellectual and Moral Condition of the Working Classes at Birmingham, (3.830) Melson, J.B., Address to the Wesicyan Society for the Promotion of Moral Culture and Discipline, (Birmingham 1840). - 40? =

Melson, J.B., Address to the Wesleyan Society for the Promotion of Moral culture and Discipline, (Birmingham 1840)•

Miller, J.C., The Church of the People, (1855).

Miller, J.C., Home Heathen; An Assize Sermon, 1854.

New, Rev. Isaac, An appeal for the Jubilee of the Sunday School Union; addressed to the teachers of the Birmingham Sunday School Union, 31st May 1853. (Birmingham 1853)."~

Nunns, Rev. T., A letter to the Rt. Hon. Lord Ashley on the condition of the working classes in Birmingham^(Birmingham 1842).

Parkes, Joseph, The State of the Court of Requests and the Public Office of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1827).

Phipson, A Tribute to a Father's Memory; A Brief Sketch of the Life of Joseph Phipson, (Birmingham 1864).

Priestley, Joseph, Autobiography of Joseph Priestley, (Bath 1970), Introduction by Jack Lindsay.

Riland, Rev. J., The Rights of God, occasioned by Mr. Paine's "Rights of Man" . . ., (Birmingham 1792), 2nd Edition. Ryder, Henry, A Charge addressed to the clergy of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry at his third visitation, August 1832, (l832). Ryland, T.H., The Reminiscences of Thomas Henry Ryland, (Birmingham 1904)5 Edited by W.H. Ryland. Scholefield, W., List of Burgesses of the Borough of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1838). Stephens, W.R.W., The Life and Letters of Walter Farquahar Hook, 2 vols, (1878). Stokes, William, The Position Proper to Sunday Schools in the Present Day, An Address to the Birmingham Sunday School Teachers 1 Union, July 4th l844» (Birmingham 1844)* Timmins, Samuel (Ed.), The Resources, Products and Industrial History of Birmingham and the Midland Hardward District, (1866). Villers, William, Admonition to those who seldom attend public worship, (Birmingham 1795). Weedall, Rev. H., Sermon for Catholic Sunday School, (1814). Wreford, Rev. J.R., Sketch of the History of Presbyterian Nonconformity in Birmingham, (Birmingham, 1832). - 408 -

5* Newspapers, Street Plans, Directories.

(a) Newspapers.

Aris's Birmingham Gazette; 1781-1852. Birmingham Journal; 1825-1852. Gloucester Journal; 1782-86.

Morning Chronicle; 1850-51.

(b) Street Plans.

Hanson, Thomas, Plan of Birmingham, 1778. Hanson, Thomas, Plan of Birmingham, 1785. (c) Trade Directories. 1781 Pearson and Rollason 1811 Holden 1785 Pye 1815 Wrightson 1787 Pye 1816 Pigot 1790 Pye 1818 Wrightson 1791 Pye 1823 Wrightson 1797 Pye 1829 Pigot 1798 Ward 1831 Wrightson 1800 Chapman 1835 Pigot 1801 Chapman 1839 Wrighteon 1803 Chapman 1843 Wrightson 1805-7 Holden 1849 White 1808 Chapman 1850 Slater 1808 Wrightson 1852 Slater

II SECONDARY SOURCES .1. Works Relating to Birmingham;

Alien, G.C., The Industrial Development of Birmingham and the Black Country, (1966) Briggs, Asa, History of Birmingham, Vol. II, (Oxford 1952). Bryman, A. (Ed.)., Religion in the Birmingham Area; Essays in the Sociology of Religion, (Birmingham 1976). Buckley, Jessie K., Joseph Parkes of Birmingham, (1926).

Bunce, J.T., History of the Birmingham General Hospital, (Birmingham 1873). Bunce, J.T., A History of the Corporation of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1878). Bunce, J.T., 'St. Martin's Church 1 , Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society, 1870, (Birmingham 1871).

Church, R.A., Kenricks in Hardware; A Family Business 1791-1966, (Dnvid & Charles 19697^ " ~~~ - 409 -

Court, W.H.B., The Rise of the Midland Industries, 1600-1838, (Cambridge 1965)•

Dent, Robert K., Old and New Birmingham, (Birmingham 1880). Dent, R.K., The Making of Birmingham, (Birmingham 1894). Gill, Conrad, History of Birmingham, Vol.1, (Oxford 1952).

Hampton, Ernest W., Early Co-operation in Birmingham and District, (Birmingham 1928).

Hill, J. and Dent, R.K., Memorials of the Old Square, (Birmingham 1897). Hutton, T.W., King Edward's School Birmingham; 1352-1952, (Oxford 1952).

Jeyes, S.H., The Russells of Birmingham in the French Revolution and in America 1791-1814, (191177

Langley, A.S., Birmingham Baptists, Past and Present, (1939). Manning, E.H., Handbook of the Birmingham General Centenary, (Birmingham n.d.) Muirhead, J.H. (Ed.), Nine Famous Birmingham Men, (Birmingham 1909). Sheldon, ¥.C., Early Methodism in Birmingham, (Birmingham 1903). Stephens, W.B. (Ed.)., The Victoria History of the County of Warwick, Vol. VII, (1965). Wilkinson, K.D. (Ed.), The History of the'Birmingham Medical School 1825-1925* A Special number of the Birmingham Medical Review,(Birmingham 1925) Wilson, Wright, A history of the Church of England Cemetery and of Christ Church, Birmingham,(Birmingham 1900).

Wise, M.J. (Ed.)., Birmingham and its Regional Setting; A Scientific Survey, (Birmingham 1950)•

2. General Works

Altick, R.C., The English Common Reader; A Social History of the Mass Reading Public l800-1900i (Chicago 1957).

Barnard, H.C., A History of English Educa tion from 1760, (1961).

Best, G.F.A., Temporal Pillars. Queen Anne's Bounty, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and the Church of England, (Cambridge 1964).

Binns, H.B., A Century of Education, Being a Centenary History of the British and Foreign School Society, (1908).

Boase, Frederic, Modern English Biography, Vols. 1-5, (1965).

Bowen, D., The Idea of the Victorian Church, (Montreal 1968).

Briggs, Asa, Victorian Cities, (1963),

Briggs, Asa, The Ar;e of Improvement, (1959). - 410 -

Chadwick, Owen, The Victorian Church, Part 1, (1966).

Clark, F., Education and Social Change, (1940).

Conference Report, 'The Working Class and Leisure 1 , Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Labour History, 32, (1976).

CruickshanlC, M., Church and State in English Education, (1963).

Cullen, M.J., The Statistical Movement in Early Victorian Britain, (New York 1975).

Curtis, S.J., History of Education in Great Britain, (1963, 5th Edition).

Curtis, S.J. and Boulwood, M.E.A., An Introductory History of English Education Since l800, (1962).

Davies, G.C.B., The First Evangelical Bishop; Some Aspects of the Life of Henry Ryder, (Tyndale Press 1958).

Dictionary of National Biography, (1908).

Dobbs, A.E., Educa tion and Social Movements, 1700-1850, (1919).

Dyos, H.J., (Ed.) The Study of Urban History, (1968).

Dyos, H.J. and ¥olff, Michael, The Victorian City; Images and Realities, 2 vols. (1973).

Foster, Joseph, Alumni Oxonienses, 1715-1886, 4 vols., (Oxford 1891).

Fraser, Derek, Urban Politics in Victorian England, (Leicester 1976).

Gill, J.C., Parson Bull of Byerley, (1963).

Gill, J.C., The Ten Hours Parson; Christian social action in the eighteen thirties, (1959).

Goldstrom, J.M., The Social Content of Education 1808-1870, A Study of the Working-Glass School Reader in England and Ireland, (Shannon 1972).

Gordon, Peter, The Victorian School Manager, (1974).

Harrison, J.F.C., Learning and Living 1790-1960, (l96l).

Hawkes, George I., The Development of Public Education in Nelson, (llelson 1966). Hennock, E.P., Fit and Proper Persons, (1973).

Holt, Raymond V., The Unitarian Contribution to Social Progress in England, (1938). ' Hurt, John, Education in Evolution; Church, State Society and Popular Education 1800-1870, (197l)~ Jackson, R.M., The Machinery of Justice in England, (Cambridge 1972).

Johnson, Marion, Derbyshire Village Schools in the Nineteenth Century. (Newton Abbot, 1970). ^ - 411 -

Jones, M.G., The Chrrity School Movement, (Cambridge 1938).

Kitson Clark, G., Churchmen and the Condition of England l8B2-loc3, (1973) • Kitson Clark, G., The 1-iakin.? of Victorian England, (1968).

Laqueur, T.¥., Religion and Respectability; Sunday Schools and Working Glass Culture, 1780-1850, (Yale 1976).

Lawson, John and Silver, Harold, A Social History of Education in England, (1973).

Lloyd, Humphrey, The Quaker Lloyds in the Industrial Revolution, (1975). Malcolmson, R.W., Popular Recreations in English Society 1700-1830, (Cambridge 1973).

Mathews, H.F., Methodism and the Education of the People, 1791-1851, (1949). McCann, Philip (Ed)., Popular Education and Socialisation in the nineteenth Century, (1977).

McClatchley, Diana, Oxfordshire Clergy 1777-1869, (Oxford I960). Morrish, Ivor, Education Since 1800, (1970) Palmer, Roy (Ed.), A Touch on the Times, (1974). Plumb, J.H., England in the Eighteenth Century, (i960). Robson, D., Some Aspects of Education in Cheshire in the Eighteenth Century, Chetham Society, Manchester 1966). Robson, Robert, The Attorney in Eighteenth Century England, (Cambridge 1959). Russell, Rex C., A History of Schools and Education in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, 1800-1902, Parts 1 and 2, (Lindsey 1965). Sea_borne, Malcolm, The English School, its architecture and organisation, 1370-1870, (1971). Sellman, R.R., Devon Village Schools in the nineteenth Century, (llewton Abbot, 1967). Silver, Harold, The Concept of Popular Education, (1965). Silver, Pamela and Silver, Harold, The Education of the Poor; The history of a National school 1824-1974, (1974). Simon, Brian (Ed.) Education in Leicestershire, 1340-1940, (Leicester U.P. 1968). Simon, Brian, Studies in the History of Education 1780-1870, (i960).

Smith, F., History of English Elementary Education, (1931). - 412 -

Soloway, R.A., Prelates and People: Ecclesiastical Social Thought in England, 1783-1852, (1969).' Stephens, W.B., Regional Variations in Education During the Industrial Revolution 1780-1870, (Museum of the History of Education. Leeds, 1973).

Stephens, W.B., Sources for English Local History, (Manchester U.P. 1973). Sturt, Mary, The Education of the People, (1967).

Tholfsen, Trygve, Working Glass Radicalism in Mid-Victorian England, (1976).

Thompson, E.P., The Making of the English Working Glass, (1968).

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Trevelyan, G.M., British History in the Nineteenth Century and After, 1782-1919, (1937).

Venn, J.A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part II, 1752-1900, Vols. 1-6, (Cambridge 1940).

¥ard, W.R., Religion and Society in England, 1790-1850, (1972).

Wardie, David, Education and Society in Nineteenth Century Nottingham, (Cambridge 197lJI

Wearmouth, R.F., Methodism and the Working-Class Movements of England, 1800-1850, (1937).

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Wrigley, E.A. (Ed.), Nineteenth Century Society, (Cambridge 1972).

3. Articles and Essays Armstrong, W.A., 'Social Structure from the Early Census Returns', in Wrigley (Ed.)> Introduction to English Historical Demography, (1966).

Ball, Nancy, 'Elementary School Attendance and Voluntary Effort before 1870 1 , History of Education, Vol.2, (1973), No.l.

Best,G.P.A., 'The Religious Difficulties of national Education in England, 1800-1870 1 , Cambridge Historical Journal. Vol. XII (1956), No.1.

Briggs, Asa, 'Press and Public in Early Nineteenth Century Birmingham 1 , Dugdale Society Occasional Papers, No.8, Oxford 1949.

Briggs, Asa, 'Public Education 1 , in Stephens, W.B. (Ed.), The Victorian History of the County of Warwick, Vol, VII, (1965). - 413 -

Briggs, Asa, 'The Background of the Parliamentary Reform I-iovement in Three English Cities, 1830-2', Cambridge Historical Journal, Vol. X, (1952), No.3.

Cannadine, David, 'The Calthorpe Family and Birmingham 1810-1910: A Conservative Interest Examined 1 , Historical Journal, XVIII, 4, (1975).

Chaloner, W.H., 'Dr. Joseph Priestley, John Wilkinson and the French Revolution 1 , Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Series 5, Vol.8, (1958).

Chapman, S.D., 'The Evangelical Revival and Education in Nottingham 1 , Transactions of the Thoroton Society, Vol. LXVI, (1962),

Coleman, B.I., 'The Incidence of Education in Mid-Century', in Wrigley, E.A., (Ed.), Nineteenth Century Society, (Cambridge 1972).

Evans, Eric J., 'Some reasons for the growth of English rural anti- clericalism: 1750-1830 1 , Past and Present, No.66, (1975).

Frith, Simon, 'Socialization and rational schooling: elementary education in Leeds before 1870', in McCann (Ed.), Education and Socialization.

Gill, Conrad, 'Birmingham Under the Street Commissioners', University of Birmingham Historical Journal, Vol. I, (1947-8). Harrison, Brian, 'Religion and Recreation in Nineteenth-Century England 1 , Past and Present, No. 38, (1967). Henriques, U.R.Q., 'The Rise and Decline of the Separate System of Prison Discipline', Past and Present, No. 54, (1972). Hurt, J.S., 'Professor West on Early Nineteenth-Century Education', Economic History Review, 2nd series, XXIV, (1971). Inglis, K.S., 'Patterns of Religious Worship, 1851', Journal of Ecclesiastical History, xi (i960). Johnson, Richard, 'Educational policy and social control in early Victorian England', Past and Present, No. 49* (1970). Johnson, Richard, 'Notes on the schooling of the English working class 1780-1850 1 , in Schooling and Capitalism: A Sociological Reader, (1976). Keep, H.F., 'The History and Teaching of Carrs Lane', Transactions of the Congregational History Society, Vol. 9, (1924-26), Kiernan, V.G., 'Evangelicalism and the French Revolution', Past and Present, No. 1, (1952). Lawson, John, 'Elementary Education in Hull in the l850's', Studies in Education, Vol. II, No. 1., (Hull 1953). Madoc-Jones, Beryl, 'Patterns of attendance and their social significance: Mitcham National School 1830-39% in McCann, Philip (Ed.), Popular Education and Socialization in the Nineteenth Century, (19777- - 414 -

McCann, Phillip, 'Popular education, socialization and social control: Spitalfields I8l2-l824 f , in McCann (Ed.), Popular Education, Mole, David, 'Attitude of Churchmen towards Society in Early Victorian Britain 1 , in Bryman, (Ed.), Religion in the Birmingham Area, (Birmingham 1976)

Mole, D.E.H., 'Challenge to the Church in Birmingham, 1815-1865', in Dyos and Wolff, The Victorian City, (1973).

Mole, D.E.H., 'John Gale Miller: a Victorian Rector of Birmingham 1 , Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. XXVI, No. 1, (1965).

Money, John, 'Birmingham and the West Midlands: 1760-1793. Politics and Regional Identity in the English Provinces in the Later Eighteenth Century', Midland History, Vol. 1, No. 1, (1971).

Money, John, 'Taverns, Coffee Houses and Clubs: Local Politics and Popular Articulacy in the Birmingham Area, in the Age of the American Revolution', Historical Journal, Vol. XIV, (1971), No. 1, Murphy, James, 'The Rise of Public Elementary Education in Liverpool: Part 1', Trans. Hist. Soc. of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol. 116 (1964). Reid, Douglas A., 'The Decline of Saint Monday 1766-1876', Past and Present, No. 71, (1976). Robinson, Eric, 'An English Jacobin: James Watt Jnr., 1769-1848', Cambridge Historical Journal, Vol. XI, (1955), No.3« Rose, R.B., 'The Origins of Working Class Radicalism in Birmingham 1 , Labour History, (Nov. 1965). Rose, R.B., 'The Presetley Riots of 1791', Fast and Present, No. 18, (i960). Sanderson, Michael, 'Education and the Factory in Industrial Lancashire', Econ.Hist.Review Series 2, Vol. XX, (1967). Sanderson, Michael, 'Literacy and Social Mobility in the Industrial Revolution in England 1 , Past and Present, No. 56, (1972). Sanderson, Michael, 'Social Change and Elementary Education in Industrial Lancashire: 1780-1840', Northern History, Vol. Ill (1968). Sanderson, Michael, 'The National and British School Societies in Lancashire 1803-1830: the roots of supremecy in English education', in Cook, T.G. (Ed.), Local Studies and the History of Education, (1972). Silver, Harold, 'Aspects of Neglect: The Strange Case of Victorian Popular Education 1 , Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 3, No. 1, (1977), P-58. Simon, Joan, 'i/as there a Charity School Movement? The Leicestershire Evidence', in Simon, B., (Ed.), Education in Leicestershire, (1968).

Smith, R.J., 'Education, Society and Literacy: Nottinghamshire in mid 19th century', University of Birmingham Historical Journal, Vol. XII, 1969.

Stone, Lawrence, 'Literacy and Education in England: 1640-1900', Past and Present, No. 42, (1969). - 415 -

Tholfsen, Trygve, 'The Artisan and the Culture of Early Victorian Birmingham 1 , University of Birmingham Historical Journal, Vol. IV,

(1953-4). t Thompson, E.P., 'Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism', Past and Present, No. 38, (1967).

Wadsworth, A.P., 'The First Manchester Sunday Schools', Bulletin of the John Bylands Library, Vol. 33, (1950-51).

West, E.G., 'Resource Allocation and Growth in Early Nineteenth-Century British Education', Economic History Review, 2nd series, Vol. XXIII, (1970).

West, E.G., 'The Interpretation of Early Nineteenth Century Education Statistics 1 , Economic History Review, 2nd series, Vol. XXIV, (1971). Wise, M.J., 'On the Evolution of the Jewellery and Gun Quarters in Birmingham 1 , Transactions and Papers of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 15, (1951T '

4. Theses

Behagg, Clive, Artisan Radicalism in Birmingham 1815-1820 (with special reference to George Edmonds and the Press, B.A. Dissertation, University of Birmingham, (1971).

Bushrod, E., The history of Unitarianism in Birmingham from the middle of the eighteenth century to 1893? M.A., Birmingham, 1954.

Mole, D.E.H., The Church of England in Society in Birmingham, 1830-1866, Thesis, Ph.D., University of Cambridge, (l96l).

Ram, R.W., The Social Evolution of Five Dissenting Communities in Birmingham 1750-1870, (Thesis, Ph.D., University of Birmingham, 1973)*

Steele, I.J.D., A Study of the Education of the Working Glass in Stockport During the Nineteenth Century, M.A., University of Sheffield, 1968.

Tyson, J.C., Elementary education provided by the governors of the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth in Birmingham, 1751-1883, II.A., Birmingham, I960.

/foot ton, James, Non-Conformist Contribution to Educational Thought and Ideas in the Eighteenth Century; with special reference to the work and writings of Joseph Priestley, M.Ed., University of Leeds, (l955)»